Daughter Turned 3 and Has Had Some Drastic Behavior Changes

Ahh the terrible three's...that brings back memories. That was the time I introduced the naughty corner to my children. One minute per year of child's age.

She is a sponge and will throw anything she absorbs right back at you. Make sure you nor anyone else is doing it to her. Some parents make the mistake of doing and saying "grown-up" things in front of their children and then wonder why they do it. I suggest you look in the mirror first and maybe modify your own behavior or modify who else she may be around to pick it up from.

She's old enough now to communicate, so I strongly suggest using the approach outlined in How to Talk So Kids Will Listen, and Listen So Kids Will Talk. You can read part of this really practical guide to communicating with your kids here: http://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Kids-Will-Listen/dp/038081....

Empathy is important and constructive at this age. Kids are so constantly managed, rushed, pulled away from things they want to do, scheduled, and told no. The life of a three-year-old is terribly frustrating, and her new behaviors suggest that her needs for autonomy aren't quite being met. I've used the techniques in this book with my grandson, and they are terrific for helping him to feel understood, which in turn helps him want to be more cooperative.

whoever started the saying terrible 2s were not on track at all.... they must not have gotten to 3 year. 3 was the hardest age to deal with for all 3 of my kids!
Not sure what you are specifically looking for so I will just say- whatever you decide on be consistant. And take heart it does get better with time.
Hope this helps :)

I swear, my daughter grew fangs when she turned three : ) It's not you, regardless of what other posters imply. Three is a tough age, especially for girls. Just keep being consistent in your rewards for good behavior and punishments for bad behavior and work on waiting it out. Good luck.

Welcome to 3....it is a drastic change from 2, but the good thing is at this point, kids can understand how their actions affect others. I am dealing with this too, and it is so hard. I am no expert, but here is what is working in our home. I was so shocked at what my 2 year old turned into at 3. Blew me away!

Nip sassiness as fast as possible. Tell her you do not appreciate how she is speaking and if she continues to do so, she can go to her room or wherever in your house you ask them to go. I even deal with the nonverbal sassiness - stomping feet, rolling eyes, etc. If you are out and about, you may have to stop what is being done (such as a park date or whatever) and leave.

When she is not nice to her friends, an effective way to deal with that is to ask her how she thinks she is making her friends feel by being mean. If you witness the meaness - stop and ask her right then and there before you have her say she is sorry, then have her apologize to her friend but make her be specific. "I am sorry that I said xxx, or I am sorry I hurt your feelings or I am sorry I hit you." It makes your child identify her actions to the emotion it causes.

I think all three year olds hate punishment, but just be quick and clear about it. Tell her why she is being punished, do the punishment and then afterwards ask her to explain what she did that needed punishment. We do time outs. It is effective for us. My daughter screams the whole time - it sucks. I just ignore it and then be matter of fact with her.

3 is the new 2. Three is MUCH worse than two ever thought it could be!

I hate to be punished too.

I have a boy, but 3 is way worse than 2 was for us too! We read books from the library about behaviors, and that helps (we read picture books with our son!). We also do reiteration - an apology is directed at the offended, and he has to explain why he is apologizing, give a hug/kiss. We also do one on one time with each parent, for a few hours on the weekends. Time outs are not currently effective, so we do a "reset" by having our son go to his room with one of us parents, and we hang out and wait until the bad moment has passed, then we talk about it and make our expectations clear. We do sometimes reward good behavior with stickers. This works with our son but not our daughter. We keep our tone "suggestive" instead of demanding/bossy. These are a few things that help in our house.

3 is so much worse than 2 with a girl , I thought my daughter was bad at 2 but when she turned 3 it trippled!!!!.....on a positive note though since turning 4 she has mellowed a little...lol!

I swear the week my son turned 3 he became possessed, lol.. You always hear about the terrible 2's, but no one ever told us about that 3 year old stage...

My son has a hard time being told what to do as well, but I am VERY consistent.. If I give him a warning, it's ONE time.. Then he goes into a timeout for 3 minutes.. He will more than likely get out of it and I will continue to sit him back in the chair as many times as it takes ( I don't EVER look or talk to him while I'm doing it).

All of my friends that have older children ALL agreed that 3 was a much tougher age to handle then the 2's... There trying to become more independent.. I try and give him choices with smaller things (so he feels as if he's making some decisions).. IE: what color shorts do you want to wear today, do you want green beans, carrots, or edamames with your lunch, do you want to go bike riding or to the park today.. Things like that really help in our house so then he feels he's got a say in "somethings"...

The acting up comes and goes also.. He'll be a terror for 3 weeks and I'm ready to pull all my hair out, then it will disappear for a month.. So it will come and go also..

Good luck!!! Just think, every age is a new obstacle to overcome, lol

Glad I am not the only one suffering through this...