I have a five year old. When the planets align just right she turns into the AMAZING helper. OTherwise she's pretty much a bully beating up her baby brother, she never stops talking and when you ask her to do the simplest thing she won't.
How do I get the planets to align more often?
--Ray
__________________
I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
Two more months...two more months...two more months...
Okay, I'll at leat attempt to be somewhat helpful.
Each child is different, of course, but there are some developmental things common to most children at five years old.
Young children are egocentric. They don't have the cognitive abilities to understand the importance of sharing, and the "how would you feel if..." that we insist on telling them. They'll respond because they can figure out the behavioral rules with practice, but they won't "get it" for a few more years. The beating up baby brother thing is likely her way of learning about cause and effect in the world--she provides the stimulus, baby provides the response, and it becomes almost like a game. She's not being malicious, she's learning! Redirect her into a physical cause-and-effect activity that's just as engaging but that doesn't hurt baby.
She's talking enough to drive you crazy? Fantastic! She's developing her verbal-linguistic intelligence. Now is a good time to help her develop context for her skills. Start working with her about staying on topic and listening during conversations. But also let her do the stream-of-consciousness stuff often.
If you're going to send her to Kindergarten, now is the time to really start talking it up. Tell her things that Kindergarteners do, (not hurting other kids, talking at appropriate times, etc.) and remind her often to practice for Kindergarten. If your'e not going to send her to Kindergarten, you can accomplish the same thing by discussing what big kids do. Get your older children to help model the behaviors you want her to develop.
Just some thoughts. YMMV.
-- Edited by Roper at 17:27, 2007-06-16
__________________
The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
Not go to kindergarten!? Are you insane? I'm not one of those homeschooling nutters... The debate we had in our house was whether to send her to all day or half day... (her mom is a stay-at-home mom, but you can guess which option she favored... )
--Ray
__________________
I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
We noticed a big difference in our five year old after a few months of kindergarten. Many of the challenges you are currently facing Ray got much better.
I think fathers and mothers of five year olds need constant reminders that "This too shall pass"... This particular five year old has really been a challenge. She's learned too well from her older siblings, and quite frankly she gets bored and I think she figures any type of attention is better than being bored. Which for the most part is the way I feel about stuff... so I don't blame her... Just wish i were more able to deal with it. :)
--Ray
__________________
I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
I have a friend who said her daughter was very talkative when she was young. She told her daughter to please give her five minutes of quiet while she went to the bathroom. Her daughter stood at the door talking all the while. I am fond of children who are so lively!
)
