Has Anyone Else's Daughter (Or Son) Seem to Have Lost Their Minds?

I have a 4th grade daughter as well. Her behavior started to change around the middle of the summer. We are very close and I firmly believe if something was going on in her life she would tell me. She has always been a good student and behaved well. Her teacher called me 2 days ago and said she is not focusing in class and is very chatty. I was shocked. He was almost implying ADHD. We decided to try moving her seat. I will do anything to avoid putting her on medicaiton. I get hyper-sensitive about her emotional behavior because I have bipolar disorder. My first reaction was to get her a mental health evaluation, but then I was talking to my therapist about her and came to a logical explaination. I got my period when I was nine and she is probably going to get hers soon too. My therapist said that girls can start having premenstural syndrome symptoms up to 2 years before they get it. Their hormones start raging and it causes a lot of extra energy and confusion which can lead to acting out. Anyway, this is just one possiblity that you could explore. When I sat my daughter down and explained some of this to her, she started to cry and said she feels like she can't control herself and is easily distracted, but she wants to do good in school. I'm just staying on top of her and watching her very closely for now, hopefully she'll make some changes.

Good luck to you and I hope you ge to the root of her problem.

Hello J.,
I had the same problem with my 10 year old son. In the forth grade as well. I soon discovered he was hitting the person who sat behind him and disrupted the class by talking. Also, stopped turning in homework for a while. I mean he was a great kid no trouble ever before this. But I soon discovered he was BORED! He is a very smart kid and is at a higher level then most kids in his class. SO, he would complete his work before everyone else and thats when all the other stuff would start. He was sitting and waiting for the class to complete the assignment and got bored. So, we worked out that he could help tutor the other students or read. That actually worked we didnt have any more problems through the school year with anything. He had a great year there after. I hope that this helps in some way and you work it out.

They all lose their minds at this age. Puberty lasts for many years. But just in case, have a few long talks with her about what is bothering her. If she is acting out in anger, there is a reason why she is angry other than hormones. Keep a close eye on her and the company she keeps to make sure no one is harming her in any way. If she is pinching all of a sudden, you have to ask yourself ,"Who is pinching her." Good luck!

R.

I have not gone through this yet, because my daughter is only 3, but do you think that her period could be starting? I got mine very at this age, but was the only one in my family that started that early. However, I have a niece who got hers at this age as well.

Usually if there is a HUGE change in a child's behavior, (expectially at her age, because she's out of the toddler stage where behavior can change from minute to minute)usually means that something tramatic has happened to her, or there's been some drastic change in thier life. Does she have any new set of friends? Been around any new adult figures? If a child starts acting like this (when they have never acted out before) usually means that something is troubling them. She is young so it may be hard for her come right out and tell you so this is her way of trying to get your attention. The best advice I can give you is sit her down one to one and just talk to her. Start out simple by asking questions like how was your day? What did you do in school today? Just like it was a normal conversation. Let her know that you are here for her no matter what and if she has any problems she can always come and talk to you that you won't get mad. Sometimes kids are afraid to open up to you because they think you will get mad, alot of kids think that things that happen to them are their fault and they don't want to get in trouble. So you have to let them know that NO MATTER what it is they can always come to you. She may be getting bullied at school and is afraid. Ask her if there's something bothering her she wants to talk about. But you can't push her too hard to talk about it if she doesn't want to, because she's more liekly to close up tighter. But you Definetly want to get to the bottom of it, and quickly. Best of Luck to you!