Hi I'm a young mom of a 5year old girl soon to be 6 and i'm trying to raise her on my own she has no contact with her father what so ever( on his own part). I'm feeling like her and i are drifting apart and i'm finding myself getting frustated with her and not wanting to do the things i use to enjoy. I have a hard time trying to read with her and helping her with school things and i'm getting more frustated with myself because i feel like i'm doing a bad job. She's has had an attitude and doesn't listen very well and i'm not really sure what to do about it. I want her to be able to talk to me so i need to find other ways to dea with the stituations without yelling and getting upset. Any ideas? Thanks

Its hard not to get upset & yell when they're not listening/behaving - and they'll always misbehave most around the person they're most at ease with. Maybe you need a break from each other for a bit - weekend or night at the grandparents - special time for her & you can have some alone time (and not to be cleaning the house....have 'me' time).

Helping with homework - ask the teacher for some tips, if she's getting frustrated & you're getting frustrated with the homework - maybe take a step back, so some 'easy' stuff to boost her confidence, make sure she knows the preliminary work, has a good foundation to be learning the new skills. My son would get so frustrated he'd be in tears & toss the book/papers - its difficult.The other thing that has worked for my kids - to boost confidence is enrolling them in team sports, swimming lessons - where they can 'push' themselves & see the results of their efforts.

My girl is 5.5 and the attitude is large, and so emotional - I wonder if its their hormones ? Mine will scream she hates me, break out in tears, then come back a few minutes later all sweet - drives me crazy! She's better when she's active, so I keep her busy outside or doing something physical.

Hi there, I know where you're coming from I'm also a mother(37 yrs old) to a 7yr old girl(and a 10yr old boy)and she also has an attitude(i think it's a girl thing).  I was feeling like i wasn't connecting with her for a while there and felt that she only got along with her dad(we are together).   I felt frustrated doing homework with her and felt that all i was doing was yelling at her and being really impatient(and i never had those feelings with my son).  I think girls are just different, they know what they want and they are very independant. 

Things have been going alot better between us.  I'm trying to relax more with her and when she gets mouthy or has attitude i put her in her room.  I'm also trying to be more consistent.  I would threaten and not follow through(same with my husband), so she knew that she could get away with things(and that contributes to the bad attitude).  I try to play barbies with her more(or whatever she wants to play)and i find that helps us to connect and i also hug and kiss her more.  I let her play with her little friends in our subdivison-I was fighting her on this for awhile but because she's very social my counsellor(i'm in counselling because of my unstable childhood)told me that she needs that time(but i limit it).

My counsellor also told me about video called "1 2 3 Magic" it's available at the public library.  I haven't picked it up yet, but I intend to. It's supposed to be good for getting children to listen and disciplining them(it's for ages 5 to 12 years).  My husband and I are going to watch it together.

Hope this helps.