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Toddlers: 24 Months+
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4yr old step son behavior problems

mrsguzman1002mrsguzman1002 member
in Toddlers: 24 Months+
OK so I have a 4 year old step son (and two step daughters) who I've had since he was 2 do he's really mine and calls me mommy but I still missed quite a bit potty training him was super easy he was 3 and we just stopped using diapers and just asked him every couple of hours to go pee he had a few night accidents but not that bad. Now he's 4 and my son will be 1 next month and I'm pregnant with my next. And lately he's just been a real pain in the ass. Not listening or doing what he's told, Hitting his little brother and big sisters hitting random kids at the dentist and now having "accidents" he just randomly pees himself and then just ignores it until someone notices that his pants are wet. Tonight he literally emptied his bladder at the dinner table and when he was done said oh I have to potty and when he came back I noticed his pants were soaked. Altogether we have 4 kids and one on the way. I have high risk pregnancies and being pregnant is really hard for me and totally sucks and I have a 1year old to take care of so I'm sure he's doing it for attention but I don't know how to give him any more attention. I take him to the park once a week for a mommy and me group but during the day he plays in his room and I'm either taking care of his brother, sick in bed, cooking and cleaning or all three. I love all my kids and wouldn't have it any other way but I don't know what to do. I don't spank them since they aren't technically mine but time out and no juice and no iPad isn't working anymore !!! HELP ! 
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Re: 4yr old step son behavior problems

  • oursong611oursong611 member
    I don't know if this will help or not, but I had a lot of the same problems with my 2.5 year old, especially as we've drawn closer to my due date with his first sibling. When he tried the peeing his pants for attention stunt, I told him that if he was too little to go potty, then he was too little to have ANY treats (I heavily emphasized any, and listed off several of his favorites- ice cream, TV, park, "coffee" dates, etc.). I explained that babies are too little to have those things, so if he wanted to act like a baby, then he couldn't have them either. It worked like a charm. Suddenly, he magically remembered how to go to the bathroom and has only had one or two legitimate accidents since then. As for other attention seeking behaviors, I've found that it really helps to spend a little bit of one on one time with him each day, even if it's just to read a book or rock him for a few minutes. It has also been tremendously helpful to make him "my big helper" and let him "help" me with several little chores, like sorting laundry, pushing buttons on the washer & dryer, and putting away silverware. Also, prayer helps a lot! Hope some of this helps!
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