Raising Children Network | Forums / Baby & child forums / Preschoolers (3-5 years)

attention span - four year old

redleaves — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:31:52 GMT

I love chatting and engaging with my four year old's world, but after a sentence or two, he drifts away or forgets what I've said. Its very frustrating.

Would you say he has a poor attention span or is it pretty normal for his age?

Better Start for Children with Disability Initiative

Christine1959 — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:24:01 GMT

Just informing all parents who have children with the above disabilities that there is funding available for allied health services and equipment and resources. For early intervention funding your child needs to be under 6 yrs of age to register. For those over the age of 6 yrs, there are medicare items to access. For more information, please call 1800 242 636 and speak to a RIS Advisor.

Need advice on learning the alphabet and the world

Linda_Vanish — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:14:49 GMT

Hello. I happy with my child. He is 4 years old. Recently we bought iPad and I want use it to learning and have some fun time. Who can recommend me some useful application?

Anyone with toilet training tips please? i have a 3yrols son

Harmony92 — Sat, 05 May 2012 22:04:06 GMT

Hi there guys i was just wondering if anyone had any helpfull toilet training tips for me with my son he is 3yrs old. My son has only done wee's in the toilet and never number 2's.He also only does wee's at home and refuses to go at daycare.His carers are supportive but still no luck. I really dont want to pressure him at all as i know that our little ones need to go in their own time. So just wondering if any one has any tips like sitting or standing or just any tips at all would be greatly appreciated. Ps; he uses the toilet with a step and toilet seat not a potty, thanks guys peace and happy days to all

Needing advice

No...ah's mum — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:50:11 GMT

Hi I'm new to all of this, I am 31yr old single mum an have 5yr old girl & 4yr old boy. Dad is very involved in our lives but thinks this is all solved with good smack. However my son has some huge behaviour, development an sensory issues and a friend suggested looking into Autism spectrum when I mentioned this to day care they commented had thought for a while there maybe be an issue, so we're booked in for private assessments and the more research I do the more things fall into place, I'm 12wks from seeing anyone and with his behaviour going from one extreme to the other not in a good way I guess I'm looking for any hints or tips or advice from anyone who has been down this path and what my next steps should be? Also is there any help/support out there for this intrim period.

No...ah's Mum.... Because I always saying Nooooo..., Noah, Arghhhh!!!!

catch 22 eating dramas with my 4yr old girl

cruizy72 — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:19:23 GMT

Hi there , i was wondering if i could get any feed back on possible dramas of any kind other than "they are often fussy eaters". My daughter has always been very difficult to create any steady or substantial kind of diet for a few reasons that individually can be you would think remedied quite easily however when combined has become a chase the tail type scenario..
firstly from a young age has shown a dislike for eating in various ways from difficulty swallowing "dont like the food " yet wont even try it ( and has been a wide variety ) eventually requesting milk or milo drink to fill up on... as she is our first child and we are in the country and dont have the support from family daily we soon encountered constipation from hi fat intake of milk which we changed to smart milk to counter so at least she got something in her as a last resort...withholding the milk didnt steer her towards eating either...any parent that has a child suffering constipation will soon know that behavioral problems quickly follow. Also running with this in parallel is because of inadequate diet she for a better part of three to four she suffered multiple chest ear sinus infections which again dented what lilttle appetite she did have.
The foods she will eat change with the wind ...there is no she will only eat junk food or noodles that i have read on other posts one day itll be edible the next its i dont like that. We try not to be reactionary parents at every whim and have observed if theres a "pay off" in it for her that shes trying to get but cant seem to identify any...having said all this we are coming to be at a bit of a loss ..she recently had gastro and lost what lil weight she did have on her and now i am racking my brains to puzzle out how to get it back on her. On the flip side since the gastro she has gone off the milk and is no longer constipated so we have our lovely behaved sweetheart back but still lacks appetite...
taking all this into account i would be interested in if there is something potentially not right with her eating system that may be causing this.. and these are the symptoms wrongly dismissed as "shes just a fussy eater" and any hints on something to help her regain some of her weight back.. at a loss for ideas and seem unable to get taken seriously by GP who would at least rule out by actually checking into other possibilities as apposed to dismissing them ( ie throat size issue ,swallowing prob?)
~ any ideas?

How do I break a bad sleeping habit?

mum2ar — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:08:17 GMT

Hi everyone,

We've been having unsettleness in our family for the past four months where we have been moving down from Brisbane to Melbourne and staying in different appartments until we've been able to move into our house in April.

The boys (2 and 5) have been coping emotionally amazingly well

My big problem at the moment is that they have slipped into a really bad 'going to bed' habit where my husband or I lay with each of them in their individual beds until they fall asleep.

I now this must sound crazy to some, but because we've been moving around in different places, I guess I started the habit by thinking they must be feeling unsecure during this time and just let it be.

Now that we've establised and settled into our home again, how do I break it? Do I just leave them in bed, walk off, close the door - this will surely make them break down in tears. Thought huge tantrum and start screaming. Maybe I'm just soft and need to just do it, but somehow, I just don't have the heart to let them screaming for hours on end.

How do you put your children to bed? What is your routine? What advice can you give me or should I just toughen up???

I must add that both boys are very good sleepers and once asleep they are fine, I can leave and they will stay there for the entire night.

I could just leave it as it is and hope that it will change with time but my husband travels alot interstate so on those nights it takes me up to 3hrs to first lay with the one until he's asleep and then lay with the other. Please help, any advice welcome!!!!

Single Parenting

kidsneeds — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:08:04 GMT

Are you a Single Parent in the City of Melbourne, do you need support, social activities, advice, legal guidance or simply someone to talk to and share your story with. Lets get together on this forum and connect and share our stories, ask one another for help and share important infomraiton for Single Parents

MUSIC LESSONS FOR A FOUR YEAR OLD

redleaves — Mon, 07 May 2012 09:52:23 GMT

Hi,

has anyone started music lessons for a four year old?

Do you think it is too young?

There are teachers that advertise locally that say they can teach from 4 years of age, but I think it'd be pretty amazing to teach a four year old to sight read music.

Any feedback is very welcome.
thanks

3 yr old now refuses to use the toilet

Kaz1211 — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:15:27 GMT

my 3 yr old daughter was fully toilet trained and for 5 months we only had 1 accident. Lately, she refuses to use the toilet and has gone back to going in her undies. The lies and tells me she doesn't need to go, that 'daddy' didn't tell me to go, that she's clean when she clearly isn't. Nothing has changed with her daily routine so i'm at a loss about what to do. we've tried giving her 5c each time she goes without being told, ringing 'daddy' to tell him the good news, rewards charts and getting her a new piggy bank to put her toilet money in. Still no luck.

Any ideas?

4 yr old son hits a lot !

shar28 — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:16:39 GMT

We need help ! What do we do with or say to our son that hits /punches & lashes out at us any chance he gets. We tell him it is wrong and tell him we dont like it when he hits/punches us but he still does it. Any advice gratefully received ...Thanks

4 yr old and fussy with food

Fun mum 78 — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:26:48 GMT

Our 2nd child is just 2 and eats anything, so the same as us. Our 4 n half yr old boy is a nightmare when it comes to food. Up til 18 mths he ate a variety, now all it is is hash browns and chips, nuggets, chick tenders, occasionally fish fingers, noodles, bananas, bread- no butter or sarnies, crackers and all the naughty things. For 9 days we have been batteling to get him to eat what we do. We all sit together at the table and he just sits there and looks at it and whines. Won't touch it and therefore goes to bed hungry. He says he's starving but won't try anything. He eats breakfast and lunch ok, but not tea. We know it's our fault before being so easy of him as we were told we wouldn't ever have kids so spoilt him. We know we're paying for it now hence why our daughter is treated as meant to go,on. Please can anyone give some helpful hints and tips or advice?? How long do u go with out them eating tea? told we wouldn't ever have kids so spoilt him. We know we're paying for it now hence why our daughter is treated as meant to go,on. Please can anyone give some helpful hints and tips or advice?? How long do u go with out them eating tea?

punishment or dealt with?

redleaves — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:03:24 GMT

My four year old behaved extremely badly at daycare today. It was dealt with well at the time, with an explanation of why it was bad and time out in the 'thinking spot'.

Do you think its appropriate to punish further when he gets home (ie restrict TV), or leave the issue alone as 'adequately dealt with' at the time'?

How to stop bad behaviour?

JacksDad — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:33:27 GMT

At home, my 4.5 year old son is your typical boy at this age, some good behaviour, some bad, but mostly good, and we work on the bad, that is until...the neighbour kids come over (which is almost everyday), then it's like he loses his mind and all this bad behaviour comes pouring out at once. Spitting, hitting, telling blatant lies, name calling are just some of the things he does. I'd like to blame the other kids, an 8 year old girl and her 6 year old brother, but that's not the case. They're typically good kids and usually bear the brunt of my boy's bad behaviour (which I can't understand why they keep coming back). Chaperoning them, I spend most of my time trying to deal with my son to the point where I dread the sound of a knock at the door and the neighbours' voices. I can deal with one bad trait at a time and work with him on doing the right thing, but when he loses all control when the others come round, I start to lose it.

Outside banning the neighbour kids, anyone have any ideas on how to handle the situation?

4 year old very attached to 1 friend at school

tara270887 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:12:03 GMT

My 4 year old has been having some troubles at kindy. He gets attached to 1 friend (which 1 it is tends to change every couple of weeks). He gets very upset if he can't sit next to that friend and he wants to be around them every second. He gets very upset if anyone else is next to his friend. We have tried talking to him about the fact that he can have more than one friend, and that if he can't sit next to his friend it's okay because he will be able to sit with them later. I'm at my wits end and just have no idea what we are supposed to do about this as the only place it happens is at school. Can anyone give me any ideas or has anyone else been through something similar?

4 year old constantly hungry

redleaves — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 10:51:09 GMT

My four year old is constantly saying he is hungry. an example is this morning, he had two bowls of cereal and 5 minutes later said he was still hungry. I am trying to time his morning tea/snacks regularly so he doesn't actually become hungry.

He still asks about every 45 minutes.

Yesterday, the child care centre said that he had been telling them that I never feed him (I was mortified!).

I've used Combantrin in case of worms, but I'd really appreciate any advice or other people's experience on food and the constant (every 45 mins) asking.

thanks

'I don't like you anymore'

redleaves — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:51:34 GMT

Lately, every time he is asked to do something (ie hop in the bath), my 4 year old says 'no' and then says 'I don't like you any more' when I ask again.

What do you say when you get 'I don't like you anymore' to reasonable requests??

thanks

Out in Public...

Vanessa81 — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:31:51 GMT

When I take my son downtown to go shopping, he has certain things he has to see. A certain way we need to walk. If we don't co-operate, he will melt down. Often he will start screaming and crying, cursing, lying on the floor and sometimes he will even try to run away.
I'm not sure how to deal with this anymore. He is drawn to certain stores because he likes the manikins and he also likes to see the construction sites nearby.

How can I ever simply go downtown with him for a short period of time without his screaming and swearing at me? It's not only really embarrassing, but after an few hours of this, I am exhausted.

My four year old boy wont full asleep in his own bed

Dani25 — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 13:45:01 GMT

Hi everyone,

I have a question, i have a 4 year old son that has only just been diagnosis with autism and in the last month and a half or so he has started to sleep in my bed,every night he use to be really good and share a room with his older brother but now he wont sleep in that room if i try and put in there he will just keep coming out and screaming his head and im not sure why.

My question is does anybody know how i can calm him down and get him sleeping back in his own bed???

Daughter always asks for Mum and wont let Dad help her

Shane — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:46:12 GMT

Im having trouble with my daughter. She is always asking for her Mother and she will only on occasions let me do simple things like dress her, feed her, put her to sleep. It is always a struggle to get her up in the morning,however, when my wife does it she is mainly fine. When my wife and I are together with our daughter she plays us off with each other. However, when I am by myself my daughter is better, she does however, still ask for mum.

What to do.

payment from department of families/centrelink

redleaves — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:53:17 GMT

Slight OT, but did anyone receive an extra payment from the department of families/centrelink overnight? I did, but I don't know what it relates to or what its for.

thanks

Calling on all Working Parents!

research1911 — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:52:56 GMT

Dear all,

The researchers at the Parenting and Family Support Centre, at the University of Queensland are conducting a study on working parents. We are hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the daily experiences of working parents, and to help parents manage work and family life more effectively.

We are looking for working parents, living in Brisbane with children between ages 2-12 to participate in our focus group sessions.

Your insight and experiences will go a long way in helping us implement new programs and seminars to maximise the joys of being a working parent.

Feel free to pass this information to other working parents you might know.

Interested parents can contact me at: pamela.patrick@uqconnect.edu.au or visit our website: https://experiment.psy.uq.edu.au/tmpp/

Many Thanks!

When to step in when you see a family, that's got a 4 and 5 yr old, that's unhappy?

2bfree — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:54:09 GMT

My friend gets mad quick and I don't know what to do? It stresses the kids, boys 4 and 5 out. Her and her husband have had trouble with child services because of complaints and stange cuts and bruises on kids. They are aggressive people, both suited and well matched! One time he argues with her she punches him and he smashes dvd case over back of her head!!! She went to hospital cause she was worried about gash, said it was a work accident!
They smack the kids too, usually when they don't listen- he usually throws somthing, at someone or wall and she'll clip them across back of head.
When i was over last, to babysit the next day, the 4 year was asleep in the car after trip to shops and he had wet himself, after mother yells at him I try to get him in the shower, I'm not very stern so she tries to teach me, I say I shouldn't have to yell. She she no it's tone of voice. Then she says really loud, almost yelling, 'shower now, 1 2 3....' He moves real quick then!
Then I was worried- I had to look after them for a whole day, are they really that bad? No the day I babysat we went to the park and I had no major troubles, no screaming at them and no wanting to smack them.
Is it me from not being a mother and not understanding the stresses?
The kids are in day care during the week, my friend works part-time and her husband is away 3 weeks and is home 2 weeks.

ABA Therapy for 3 yr old with Autism Spectrum Disorder

camwor1 — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 21:21:43 GMT

Hi I was wondering if there are any parents willing to email/chat about their experience with ABA intensive therapy for their child with autism.

We are considering doing 20hrs ABA a week with our 3 yr old son, but want to hear other people's experiences, as it is a considerable expense which we will have to predominantly fund.

Many thanks in advance

help with my 4 year old son and behaviour and sleeping

tiredmum82 — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:05:06 GMT

hi my son is 4 nearly 5 and was diagnosed asd about 6 months ago, wondering if anyone can help, he has been super hard since the min i fell pregnant, but he still throws major tantrums, drives me insaine with doing this thing where he wants it but dosnt a example is
last night i asked him to clean up before bed, he refused so he went to bed then was screaming that he wanted to clean up so i said go clean up be he screams he dosnt want to, this continues for awhile he wants to but dosnt. he does this with other situations like waking through night to do a wee and screaming so i take him to toliet but he screams he dosnt want to but then does but dosnt.
he also wakes every night screaming and carrying on, its not nightmares he has been doing it since a baby, every now and then he will sleep through so i know he can do it but then he starts this waking and again will want me to lay with him but dosnt, he wont just settle, some times it last 5 min other times 20 min or more.
he also stutters bad.
some times i feel like the worst mother and loose my temper with him, i feel guilty that i just wish he was like any other kid and i know i shouldnt feel that way i love him more than anything i cant stand to think of him not being in my life but i am exausted
i want to have another baby but i feel like i never will every year i hope its better with him but it never is and if i keep waiting i will never get to have another one but how will i cope if i do

3 year old son suddenly very clingy - any ideas?

krixly — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:58:18 GMT

Hi, I have 2 sons who are 3.5 & 4.5 yrs old. They are great mates and have always been at home with me as a SAHM. ds1 has just started going to kindy 5 days per fortnight this term, and alongside this, ds2 has become extremely clingy and almost like a toddler again. He follows me around the house, jumps up and down for me to carry him around the house, holds onto my leg crying whenever i say i won't pick him up (eg. while washing up the dishes). He also wants me to watch tv or play with him constantly and can't seem to do anything independently. Ha also started coming into our bed more at night and waking many times a night wanting cuddles etc. We do a lot of activities together so he is getting a lot of attention already.

I know it does coincide with ds1 attending kindy, but i am also wondering if it is just a stage too. I am going out of my mind with the constant attention (and also very babyish behaviour) that I need to provide for him, and cannot get anything done.

any suggestions as to what is going on or how to handle things better. i am very tired as i feel like i have to be tending to him 24 hours a day.

thanks

recommendation for a Speech Therapist in Brisbane

redleaves — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:42:31 GMT

Hi

Can anyone recommend a speech therapist in the Brisbane/Ipswich area?

thanks

multi vitamins for kids

redleaves — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 20:36:36 GMT

I'm interested in people's views about giving kids multi vitamins.
My four year old will only eat a limited range of foods, so am thinking maybe I should get him to have a multi vitamin to make sure he's getting everything he needs.

I'd be interested in hearing what others think.
thanks

My 4 Yr Old won't eat breakfst

HollieElijah — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:38:50 GMT

I need some advice on how to get my 4 year old to eat breakfast. All she wants is a cup of Milk and then she will happily eat FRUIT and only fruit. It’s not giving her enough energy and by midmorning she is very grumpy and teary and refuses to eat. I have even tried Sugar cereals she just won’t eat them. Eggs she will eat the yolk a bit, and toast forget it. Today we made pancakes and then she sat down and said, Yuck i dont want them. But in the next breath she will be saying I am hungry I want to eat.

Any help would be great.

Cheers

Mal

Parenting Help Needed

Debra&2 — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:03:23 GMT

Hi - first time forum mum so bear with me.....My four year old daughter is very emotional and has always been nicked name Audrey Hepburn by the performances she gives...at 2 she kicked her toe at a party and gave a performance of a lifetime of how she will NEVER EVER be able to walk again! As the years have rolled her emotions have peaked to a point that I can't control the outburst any more. I was an early childhood teacher so I have tried the basic skills of getting to her level, giving her the consequences before we even get to a situation, watching what she eats, how many hours she has slept...I feel I have looked at every possible reason that she gives these uncontrollable emotion outburst that no one can calm and the only thing to do is leave. I am thinking of getting some professional advise but what to see if there are any other parents out there that have felt as desperate as I currently feel! I feel I must be doing something wrong as no other children at the age of 4 are as emotional as mine? She is extremely smart and has talked since she was 10 months old so she is very aware of about these incidents afterwards. She tells me what the reason was and then says she wont do it again but the next day or next week it happens again. Has anyone out there experienced this with there own children and have some positive advise to give? Any advise will be welcomed as I'm at my wits end!!! Thanks in advance!

interview for enrolment in the local catholic primary school

mumby2 — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:26:05 GMT

Hi there, I am wondering if anyone can help....

We have enrolled our DS in the local catholic primary school and have been called up to go for the interview next week. I am wondering if anyone has had any experience of these interviews as to what sorts of things they might ask? Not ever having done this before I am feeling a bit nervous about it all. I'd like to feel like I'm a little prepared walking in. Does anyone have any tips they could offer as to what sorts of questions they might ask?? Thanks so much for you help.

Child Safety Engineering

engineer22 — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:09:34 GMT

I am a mechanical engineering student currently tasked with working on a year long design project. I'm very interested in safety design and would greatly appreciate any input parents might have concerning problems you would love to see solved or possibly any improvements you would like to see made to existing child safety technologies. Thanks for your time and I hope I can be of help.

Frank

growing pains

dad23 — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:24:45 GMT

has anyone else's children suffered from growing pains ?
my partners daughter is suffering from them at the moment , it is usually pain behind her knees or in her calves . it is quite painful and not much we can do for her . just wondering if anyone had experienced this and if they knew of any good ways to help the child . it usually occurs at night or late in the day . cheers for your help [Smile]

Male Role Models?

luv2bmum — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:46:26 GMT

My 3 and 1/2 year old son doesn't know his dad and is startig to ask questions. It could be completely unrelated, but he is startin to act out a bit too. He has asked my brother, my ex and a friend if they are his dad.

I think he needs a male role model in his life as so far he has only really had me, and lately his nanny as well.

Does anyone know if we have some sort of big brother thing over here like they do in America?

Or any ther suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Why I wet the bed

jimrich — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:47:24 GMT

Just want to share my own experience with chronic bed wetting. I wet for many years starting at about 4-5 up to 10-11 when I developed nocturnal erections.
To make a very long and complicated story short, my wetting was the direct result of extreme emotional stress due to a lot of fear, anger, violence and general unhappiness in our family. My parents were not happily married and this was the major stressor for me plus a lot of other UGLY stuff in our home: the boogie man, physical violence, teasing, horror movies, and a huge pile of terrible stuff that produced a lot of tension and fear in me so I'd fall asleep, have horrifying nightmares or vivid dreams of "going'" & wet the bed! Sometimes right after visiting the pot! My parent tried everything from sever punishment to bribery to waking me up at night to no water after 6 to humiliation to threats to utterly giving up to ...... well you name it! Doctors gave them a lot of stories and solutions but never DARED tell them their bad marriage and the horrible stress in our home was the REAL problem. The doctor didn't want to lose their business! But my parents would have laughed in his face over such nonsense! They were not the problem! My kidneys, bladder, BAD ATTITUDE, laziness, stupidity, genetics, COWARDICE, etc was the problem! Now that I am old enough to remember and understand, I can see that, if only my parents had attempted to eliminate some of the stressors in our home, I might have wet less or not at all. I was like a PTSD victim. I was very nervous and fidgety, had severe sinus problems and allergies. I can now see how much of this was directly connected to the terrible emotional state of our home life.
The literature on wetting just does not address the issue of emotional stress from the parents or within the home but, in my case at least, that was the main, though IGNORED, issue!

3.5 year old - obsessions with food

christylouisevalerie — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:43:29 GMT

My 3.5 year old son is very obsessive about his food at the moment. He loves cheese slices but if it gets broken or torn in the process of opening the plastic wrap, he REFUSES to eat it. We also had a fifteen minute tantrum the other day because his toast was cut into triangles and he was trying to tell me that they were rockets and not triangles. I was just wondering if anyone else's three year olds have shown signs of this as it seems a bit obsessive for a three year old...Please tell me it's normal!!! Please share any stories of your children's food obsessions!

Anyone else have multiple special needs kids in your family?

Yummymummy2089 — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:39:31 GMT

I feel like I am trying all the 'right things' and our family is still upside down. I put out spot fires all day long but never take any ground. I am tearing my hair out. Do you know how I feel???? it is so stressful and so isolating.

3.5yr old waking in the night and staying awake for hours often yelling out.

ZumMum — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:23:52 GMT

Help!!

My son has never been a good sleeper. He has slept through the night on the odd occasion, but since the arrival of a little sister 6 months ago he has been a shocking sleeper.

At the moment he goes to sleep really well at 7 with a night light on, as he is scared of he dark. He wakes some time between 11 and 1 yelling out for me. I go in and ask what is wrong, it's often nothing. I reassure him or fulfill his request for drink, cuddles, nappy change etc. then ask him to roll over and go back to sleep. After this he often stays awake and either calls out intermittently for various things or comes out to my bed. I put him back in his bed after a short period in my bed because he has never been able to sleep in a shared bed. This can go on for up to three hours.

He still needs a day sleep and generally sleeps from 1230 for up to 3 hours. He goes to care 1 day a week and on this day has less sleep and the nights are always worse.

We've tried a reward chart with no success. We've tried soft soothing music without any success. We can't ignore it because of his sister sleeping in the next room. How can I convince him to go back to sleep without tantrumming? Better still how can I convince him to self settle in he night?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Terrible, terrible 3's!!

LukiesMum+1 — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:41:22 GMT

My son is 3.5 and I have a 10wk old baby girl. I think my son is having a late reaction to his sister being part of our lives. He will not do anything on his own, try new things and just about has a panic attack if I leave the room (even after telling him where I'm going!).

He doesn't listen, doesn't do as he's told, back answers, is rude, whinges and whines and I'm at the end of my tether. The baby pretty much gets fed and dumped on the floor to play. I give him heaps of one on one attention and I take him out most days. I've banned T.V, ice cream and computer games, I've smacked, I've done time out but NOTHING is working.

I really, really don't know what to do with him anymore. I hope someone can help.

Kindergarten/Pre school in Melbourne???

Kadensmum — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 08:37:30 GMT

I'm moving from NZ to Melbourne in December and I'm trying to figure out the schooling system.

What is the difference between pre school and Kindergarten? My 4 year old son turns 5 in May therefore is not eligable for school till 2013. Alot of the kindergarten websites Ive been on only have classes for 3 and 4 year olds....so what happens when they turn 5..is this when they go to pre school until they are old enough for school?