We have a clingy, among other things, 4 year old!! Help before I pull a Britney!

@peedielyn (1207)
United States
November 23, 2010 8:38am CST
Hello Mylotters! I was wondering if any of you have honest-to-goodness advice about weening a 4 year old away from Daddy. Let me explain. We have a household of 7 kids, two adults and a dog. For the majority of the time, I have 3 of mine here and he now has custody of his 4 year old. She has always been clingy, and plays the "cutesy" card with the baby voice and all the annoying jazz that goes with it. I try really hard to ignore it, but the fact is, it drives me up the wall. She doesn't listen to me, she actually has bitten my 7 year old, hit me in the face with the broom handle and thrown her shoes at me. I spoke with her dad about this and he thought I was just picking on her until she bit him. We are trying to get all of this under control. I told him that I can no longer keep her when her mother or he isn't here, so we opted for daycare. Well, here we are about 4 weeks later, and I am stuck with her. She constantly tells me she loves me, (yeah she does, when she's about to do something horrible) and then hits me with her best shot. I try to correct her with time out, the corner, giving her toys a time out and everything under the sun. When he calls or comes home and asks how she's doing, I don't lie to him. He becomes defensive and baby's her and pets her and tells her "daddy knows how mean ro-ro is." Trust me I haven't even began to be mean. I am at my wit's end. I don't know where else to go. Right after he says that, or calls me a name---and he's caught her--she will mock a face at me or stick her tongue out or "haha ro-ro daddy said you're a c--t". That just happened the other day. He said that he should have corrected her but it was funny. Ummm....Maybe I am a bad parent, my kids are mortified by how she acts and they are upset that she never gets punished except by me and my 7 year old just asked why they aren't allowed to go into public when she's here. She said she felt like they were being punished because of how she acts. I don't know what to do. She follows his every word, movement and even sits outside the bathroom while he's doing his business. I stopped the whole sitting in the bathroom while he's in the shower thing because that's just gross, no matter what the child's age. Help please! I can't take it anymore.
2 responses
• Canada
23 Nov 10
This is your husband's (partner's?) fault, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. EVERY SINGLE TIME he tells her that you are mean, calls you a name, or believes an impish and misbehaving 4 year old over you, he is showing you both that he does not respect you, and he is teaching your 4 year old that it is perfectly acceptable not to listen to you. She will never listen to you or behave when her father is constantly telling her, with his words and actions, that she doesn't have to. If he does not change his behaviour completely, this will just get worse as she gets older, and her teenage years will include terrible name-calling from her, a complete disrespect of you, your house, and everything you own, and possibly even physical abuse (she bites you now, doesn't she?) If your husband won't believe you, you need to do counselling, as any counsellor will say the same thing, and maybe he will listen. If he won't you need to ask yourself if you really want to be with a man who doesn't respect you. And trust me, if he won't prevent his daughter from making your life a living hell, he doesn't respect you.
@peedielyn (1207)
• United States
23 Nov 10
I thoroughly believe in what you are saying. Her parents split a while ago. While mom was out getting fixes he had the little one. Then she would go back to mom for a few days. Thye are just now getting the custody thing going because he came in, when mom was here picking her "darling" up and she was higher than the sky. I said that she/he/we exposed MY children to something that need not be going on right now in front of them and it's time to do something or else. I decided to leave but he has left me financially strained at the moment. It's killing me because mykids are being abused. Her mother has Crohn's Disease and has played it to the max (yes, I know it's real but come on!) once she found out they would give her narcotic pain killers for it. Well, the meds cause the Crohn's to flair up, thus vomiting begins. The little one thinks thats the way to get medicine and literally sticks her fist down her throat to vomit. I am tired of it. I caught it on video yesterday just to show her father what's she's doing, and HE GAVE HER MEDICINE FOR IT!! I said that's what she is doing is becoming an addict like her mother and he said, "I only did it to surpass her". OMGoodness! Thank you for the response and thank you for letting me vent.
24 Nov 10
Try to bring her in a day care center. In that way, she will be able to mingle with other kids and derive her attention to other people and interests.