Question
I have a 5 year old daughter who will start kindergarten in 4 days. I have used the 6 block chart for behavior issues with good success. For some reason, the last several weeks have seen her develop an unexplained defiance. Everything seems to frustrate her. She lost all her blocks today for throwing something and kicking at at me. She sounds like a teenager when I direct her to do something. She says things like, "Again? Really?" Sounds exactly like some teen movie, but I have no other children, and we don't watch TV, so it seems perhaps she is mimicking someone in preschool? In any case, I am holding the line with her chart and spanking if I feel it is necessary, but she seems almost inviting punishment, bracing for spankings, even though I do them rarely because they don't seem to have much of an impact on this particular child. Is this perhaps some age/stage behavior? Absolutely nothing has changed. She is loved, she is hugged, and I have no idea why all of the sudden she seems so demanding and angry. She is not "spoiled," nor she lack a loving environment. Is impending kindergarten enough to turn a normal 5 year old into a burgeoning teenage brat? It worries me; any advice helps.
