I wonder what to blame for Olivia’s recent spate of irritability. Is it her age? I mean, she’s nine, has anyone ever heard of the terrible nines?
Could be that she’s spoiled rotten, being the baby and all and having special needs and we’ve created a monster that we now have to deal with?
Can we blame 5p- syndrome? Do most kids with the syndrome act out on occasion, refusing to finish breakfast, defiantly laughing when a parent threatens punishment?
Who knows?
What I do know is that she’s being difficult and we’re all suffering for it.
We’re trying to be very consistent with our expectations of Olivia. There are certain things that we simply can’t expect her to do but those are few and far between. There are so many things we can expect her to do, like putting on her socks while I untie her shoes. Like using the bathroom and washing her hands without being told or picking up her book or toy and putting it where it belongs.
We try to expect her to do the same things we expected from Alyssa at her age. It’s not always easy. Not only does she have a rare chromosomal disorder, she’s also our baby and this girl is VERY easy to baby. She’s sweet, she’s cute and yes, she’s manipulative with that sweetness and that cuteness. She knows she’s the baby and she capitalizes on that fact.
I do think she needs more sleep these days. She’s sleeping great once she goes to sleep but she isn’t going to sleep at early as I’d like. We need to work on this and I think this weekend will be a good time to do that.
Thankfully, school doesn’t seem to be as challenging at home these days. I suppose if I had to choose, I’d pick home to be where she’s acting out even if it does make more work for Tom and me. I mean, her teachers are awesome; I don’t want to make their jobs any more difficult than they already are, you know, what with being underpaid and over worked as almost all teachers are.
So that’s where we are today. Still struggling here and there but also still having lots of laughs and fun around the Ordinary household.
A mom, a dad and two daughters. We're living ordinary lives with a twist of 5p- (Cri du Chat) for spice. But we're about so much more than our younger daughter's genetic diagnosis.
1 comment:
I love the new header pic! Maybe Olivia is just trying to establish boundaries. All of us go through it, hers is just a little delayed OR she's early pre-teen. Just be firm, reasonable, loving and most of all, consistent.
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