My grandaughter 3 yrs 2 months, very intelligent and mature, also mostly well behaved, but has tendency when frustrated to either pinch, or punch, my daughter has time out chair, for which she sits for 3 mins, then grandaughter apologises, is kissed and hugged and life carries on. What causes a usually normal happy little girl, to suddenly lash out like this, any ideas
I dont know if this will help but my daughter the same as your grandaughter, intelligent, bright etc was exactley the same aged 3, I took her to nursery and the teacher pulled me aside to tell me that she had bitten someone I was devasted but they kept an eye on her and so did I and it fased out
I think it's pretty normal behaviour for a child of that age, and as long as she realises there are consequences for it she will get the message eventually. I think it's just a question of her learning to control herself and deal with frustration, it's hard enough when your grown up so it's no wonder that she lashes out sometimes.
My own daughter is a similar age and I often tell her that I understand how frustrating things can be, but that she has to learn how to deal with frustration and part of that is learning not to lash out. Sometimes, particularly with very bright children explaining these things can help.
I wouldn't worry about it too much at the moment, I would say that your doing all the right things but children are naughty sometimes and she will grown out of it.
Tell her 'No!' very firmly and move her quickly away from whoever she has pinched or punched. As soon as you have moved her away, ignore her completely and go straight to the child or adult she hurt and make a huge big fuss of them. If you do this EVERY time and remain consistent, it shouldn't take long for her to decide she doesn't like the results and stop!
I would agree that you should definitely talk to her about feeling angry and frustrated and explain that everyone feels like this sometimes. Also, try to help her find new ways of dealing with the situations that cause her to react this way.
However, make sure this happens well after the event - giving her any attention at the time, (even negative attention), will just encourage her to do it again. Also, talk about different ways she could deal with situations that !!
