Thursday, December 27, 2007

Please let it just be a stage...

The tree is down, the toys are all put away, the thank you cards are written and ready to be mailed. Christmas is over. :::sigh::: And now it's time to get ready for my four year old to turn five. I'm so not ready for that. Where have the last five years gone?!

Speaking of the four year old - ugh! She's been so difficult lately. Every five minutes she's asking "Do you want to play with me?" I don't mind playing with her - I do, a lot. But she needs to learn to entertain herself a little bit more! She got all kinds of new things for Christmas, but she won't play with any of them alone. "I might get scared and be all alone," she says. And she's been whiny and kind of tantrum-prone lately too. It's driving me up the wall.

I'm trying to think back to when i was four years old, and what I did. I don't remember much. I do remember playing Barbies for hours on end, by myself in my room. I remember playing different things in the living room while my mom was ironing and watching General Hospital - the laundry basket was so much fun. Chloe has a laundry basket, and she does like it, but it doesn't hold her interest for long. I remember about the age of five, I'd sit in my room and read a dozen or so picture books at one time, or I'd listen to books on tape. I'd draw pictures and do stencils and markers and play-dough. I would do stuff by myself, and then just go and show my mom when I was finished. She didn't sit there with me the whole time. Occasionally she'd play Candy Land or Barbies with me, but it wasn't all the time. By the time I was seven years old, I could play Monopoly alone, with four versions of 'me' sitting around the board.

I just wish Chloe could do that! There's no good reason she can't, other than that she's so used to having someone play with her all the time that she just expects it constantly.

Andrew asked "Is it like this when I'm not home too? Chaotic and stressful? Does she always want someone to play with her all the time, or is it just when I'm here?" LOL Nope, it's all the time honey. I kind of vented to him last night. I feel bad - I don't want it to sound like I'm complaining. And I'm not. He vents about his job sometimes, it doesn't mean he wants to quit. But staying at home all the time sure does get frustrating! I told him I wish we had a few more kids already - and I wish that Chloe wasn't five years older. Then maybe she'd have siblings to play with instead of just being like an only child.

I think we need more play dates. :-P

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