Word of the week: Threenager

26/7/2014

This week I have been introduced to a new word: Threenager.

Little E has been acting not so little. I have had a very real glimpse at what she will be like in ten years time. It is a hellish glimpse. Can I rewind and pretend I didn't see please?

The Threenager

The incidents have been numerous and sustained ranging from minor back chatting, refusal to listen to instructions and being heavy handed with her baby sister to full on rages, slamming bedroom doors, locking herself in the bathroom and screaming at me. There has also been the usual toddler tantrums thrown into the mix including chucking large toys around her bedroom and even protest weeing on her carpet (kinda hoping she doesn't do that in ten years time).

But the worst thing has to be the use of one word when being reprimanded... 'Fine'.

You can imagine the tone. The 'I don't give a damn if you are punishing me' attitude completely negating any punishment I have just bestowed. It is usually accompanied by a dismissive shrug whilst walking away. It is a breath away from 'Whatever'.

To top it all off the diva behaviour has reached epic proportions. She point blank refuses to wear clothes unless they are pink. All her shorts are blue so despite the heatwave she is wearing leggings and jumper dresses. If I don't style her ponytail/plait/pigtails correctly she collapses in a puddle of tears.

And her negotiation skills are worthy of the CIA. She bargains continually to try and get another biscuit/story/5 minutes in the bath. She wears you down until you crumble just to get a minute of peace. Husband summed it up perfectly - it is like living with a small terrorist.

So how do I deal with my Threenager? I've stuck to every punishment and followed through on every warning but the behaviour hasn't changed and she is showing me zero respect. I haven't even touched on the bullying her poor baby sister is experiencing this week.

Nursery are blaming the heat but can a rise of a few degrees really be responsible for turning my little girl into a monster? Or is this it until she turns 21? Heaven help me!

Linking up to #WotW with www.thereadingresidence.com

9 Comments

The Reading Residence link

25/7/2014 12:13:49 pm

Oh no! The small terrorist description sums it up well, and is somewhat worrying for you! I do recall saying to my husband that my daughter was difficult when she was 3, as we hadn't had any tantrums or issues until then. She's coming up to 5 now, and though she definitely has her moments, she's better, so ride it out, it'll come to an end! Thanks for sharing with #WotW x

You Baby Me Mummy link

25/7/2014 12:45:11 pm

Oh no! I must admit I did smile at the 'small terrorist' part! I think we might have all this to come, we already have a bit of attitude X

Mummy's Blog link

25/7/2014 04:13:01 pm

oh sounds like a nightmare. I don't have any advice, but hope things improve soon x
#weekendbloghop

Mami2five link

25/7/2014 05:44:30 pm

My eldest two have just hit 13 this year and have definitely been hit with the real teenage strops! Your okay, there is much less peeing on the floor ;)
This stage will pass, it can be hard though.
My only two bits of advice is praise all the time even for little things you class as just normal behaviour. Even if she is just sitting nicely for a few minutes or reading a book.
Also distract, distract, distract! If you see she is raring up to doing something you don't want her to try doing something really interesting that might take her thoughts away from it for a second. Often that is usually all it takes. Good Luck! #WeekendBlogHop

Tim link

25/7/2014 05:52:21 pm

Our two-year-old daughter is doing something similar - we get a look of extreme disapproval, a firm "No!" and she will put her hands on her hips and hold our gaze just long enough to let us know who's boss before flouncing off into another room. I'm not ready for this - our boys were so much simpler! #weekendbloghop

Debbie link

28/7/2014 08:36:24 am

Looking on the positive side maybe she'll be a 'darling' teenager as she will have gone through the bad attitude bit already and realizes it's not that great.

I do have two teenagers and I bite my tongue when I get a 'fine' in response to something and a withering look. It's not worth blowing things out of proportion and I am 100% sure that my two know exactly what they are doing.

I like the word threenager, you get the terrible twos followed closely by the threenage year - hopefully it only lats for a year - so hang in there!

Popped over from Word Of The Week.