My 3 1/2 year old son loves to play with our 5 year old neighbour. I want him to have other kids to play with but this girl is extremely whiny and throws loud violent tantrums when she doesn't get her way. My husband and I have been teaching our son that we don't whine and throw tantrums. We use our words and share. The problem is that this girls mom lets her whine and cry all the time and now my son is picking it up too. I have talked to him and said that she may do that but that doesn't mean that he can get away with it. I'm wondering if I should not let my son play with her as she seems to be bad influence and gets quite angry with him when they play. I have asked him if he likes playing with her and he always says yes, so I don't know what to do.
Trust your instincts and do what you feel in your heart to be the right thing. I personally would not keep them from ever playing, just maybe not real often.
Well...that's a hard one but, she is a bad influence. Try to find a playgroup for him. Maybe storytime @ your local library.
Good luck,
J.
I think I would just limit their time together for now. Three year olds are just learning about the world around them and he will be confused to a certain point.
In a couple of years it won't be a very big issue, but right now I don't think I would encourage too much play time together.
If the mom says anything just tell her that you are trying to get him together with some little boys to play with too and so he only has x amount of play time. That means a little less with the little girl. I think you would create an enemy and hurt feelings if you told her it was because her kid was bratty.
I don't think when someone else's kid is in our home that we have a right to tell them not to act bratty. We do have a right to tell them to respect our property and our persons, but not to control a tantrum. At least not until she was a little older--and certainly not with the mom standing right there. How would you like someone to tell your child to stop crying --esp if you thought he had a good reason to cry. ;-)
ts
You should not let your son see this. At five children should not be acting like this. If your son looks up to her he is going to want to imitate this. Anytime my 5 year old daughter gets angry with my three year old I take immediate action. She has a lot more sense and strength than my 3 year old and it wouldn't be fair to a younger and weaker child to have to deal with this. The mom needs to be more responsible for teaching her child. Have an occasional time to play with this girl but not all of the time. There are a lot of playgroups in the area. The five year old should be going to school after the summer so luckily you will probably be spending more time with someone your son's age.
Hi south Texas, Your son will pick up those habits the more you allow them to play together, I would just limit that time and try to find more play dates for your son, kids have different habits and sometimes there not all good ones.
Is her mom there when she is throwing fits at your house? Children learn very quickly that different adults have different boundaries. If she is at your house, even if Mom is there, explain to her that you don't behave that way at your house and if she can't calm down she will have to go home. I have a niece that acts just like that at home, but she knows she cant do it at my house. Your house your rules or send her home, in a nice way, of course. She will get the message soon enough.
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