Four has been a fairly intimidating age for me.
Even when I was a teen and helped out in the nurseries at church I was good with babies and
enjoyed working with the 2's & 3's but 4's & 5's scared me!
They are wild, bossy, stubborn, they ask SO many questions, they have epic meltdown's, etc.
And I'm sorta their with Gianna.
I think that school has been a God send because to be honest I'd probably be out of my mind
trying to deal with her 24/7.
Not that I'm putting her off on someone else, not at all, it's just we need time apart to
appreciate each other and have patience with each other.
Don't get me wrong, compared to a lot of kids her age Gianna is a sweet, well behaved little girl. But she's just at that age where she is pushing my limits (and her daddy's) constantly. I feel like she is in complete hyper mode constantly. She tears around the house crashing into things, getting into things she's not supposed to, making huge messes and then giving me smack when I ask her to clean up. Getting her to pay attention and listen to anything I say is like pulling teeth. And it's exhausting.
I hate feeling constantly frustrated with her, I want to enjoy her because I know how fast she is growing up. I feel like I spend the bulk of our time correcting over and over and over again.
Telling her the same things over and over.
A little TMI but she keeps having little accidents in her pants and I KNOW she knows better.
But sometimes I feel like she just doesn't stop and pay attention enough to know when she needs to go to the bathroom until it's too late. I'm cleaning up after her like she's a little baby and she's not.
She is smart and funny and witty but right now four is trying my patience and strength.
As much as I hate to admit it, some days I just feel relieved that it's bedtime!
And I really hate that, I want to really enjoy being with her and I know this stage will pass but for now it's a little frustrating.
Repeating myself gets tiring.
But I know that being faithful to holding her accountable for her actions will pay off. People who just expect their kids to "grow out" of certain stages with no correction or discipline are in for a rude awakening later on. Children have to be taught and that's why I pray daily that I have the patience and strength to guide and correct Gianna is the right way so that she learns and doesn't just feel like she's being punished constantly.
Finding the balance between correction and punishment is hard.......but I'm trying.
I remember when my little sister was 4 it became so different to be around here, she was not totally dependant of us but still was so little, sounds like you are doing a great job with Gianna! oh and she's so cute!
ReplyDeleteCess O. <3 The Outfit Diaries
You are a super mom. Hang in there, girl. Patience has been very hard for me, but I am slowly getting better as the days go by. (most days, at least.)
ReplyDeleteTwo has been quite a surprise after the blissful baby behavior...I can only imagine the challenges that 3 and 4 have in store for me.
Thanks, both of you! We went through a little bit of a "challenge" at the end of two, beginning of three but overall 2 and 3 weren't bad at all. And even now, four isn't the worst, it's just some days seem that way! I just get tired of correcting over and over on the same things. Occasionally I catch a glimpse of teenage Gianna and it scares me to death! Lol!
ReplyDeleteI know she's a challenge at times...but she's such a sweetie! :) And wayyyy too cute!
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