When do chaotic children calm down?
My daughter turned 5 last month. I was promised 5 is when they become calmer. And here I am still banging my head on the wall. She has somehow become more mischievous?
She stays with her grandparents and full-time nanny, and all day they run around like crazy. Every time I open the CCTV feed I see something or the other is happening.
At this point it is very clear she’s a kinesthetic learner. She cannot sit through anything- whether I am reading her a book, showing her a movie or teaching her something on paper. She’ll sing on her own, but the moment I try to teach her a song, she’ll stop singing. Same with dancing- she’ll do the steps in class but at home she’ll never practice. The only thing she likes and does well is swimming (she can breaststroke the 25m pool lengthwise twice without break).
I try some hands-on activity like those science experiment kit, and she’ll do a couple of experiments but then start making a mess, throwing stuff around.
She loves breaking things, my home feels like a warzone. We got her hair cut for summer and she hated it so much, she sneakily cut off a chunk of her father’s hair from the back. She poured an entire bottle of her lotion on her teddy bears (which are all one eyed, or one legged or have some disfigurement thanks to her). She just loves rough play, sitting on her grandfather’s neck, or doing WWE on me or her father. She has had a busted lip, a nosebleed, stitches on her forehead (all on separate occasions).
My parents have pretty much stopped visiting because they cannot deal with her.
And when she’s outside, she’ll be like a pretty angel, who has never done a single bad thing in her entire life. People think I am making stuff up.
I should not say this but returning home from work feels like prepping for battle.
Anyone with similar kids- when did they calm down? How did you manage?