Five-Year-Old Lying and Constantly in Trouble

Question:

Hi, I have a daughter who just turned 5 and a 20-month-old son. My daughter is constantly giving us trouble, at home and at day care. I’ll start with…she actually bit someone a few weeks ago at school. I couldn’t believe it at her age. Then when I asked her who she bit, she said she didn’t bite anyone. So, she is already lying to us, too.

She never listens to us about anything. Example: this morning I’m getting my son into the car seat while she is playing in a puddle. I say ‘stop it, and get in the car’ and she continues over and over to walk through and splash. I start to get mad and she knows it, but still continues. Once I finally get her in the car, I talk to her about what happened and she covers her ears, and she is mad all the way to school. This is an example of all the little things that she does that drive me crazy. It is like this all day long. She is constantly doing things just to bother us.

Now, I admit she may need more attention, especially because of her brother, but I’ll tell you neither gets that much attention, because I am so tired all the time, with work, then dinner, and cleaning and laundry. She is also, very intelligent, stubborn, and must have her way all the time. I have read your book for Positive Discipline for Preschoolers and love it, but it is so hard to practice it every day. I forget and just get angry again.

Please help. Thank you.