Little Miss Independent

[kleigh926]

Does anyone else have a fiercely independent child? DD tries to do things that she can't or shouldn't do by herself all the time. We tell her not to do certain things alone and it's like it goes in one ear and out the other. She thinks she has authority over DS, she will try to take care of him in some ways, and try to discipline him. She is also having issues with respect and thinking she can make demands of parents and grandparents. I always tell her some things aren't her job, she's not the mommy, she's not in charge, etc. It's frustrating to go over this again and again, but I guess it's part of her strong-willed personality. Some day I'm sure it will be a good quality to have, but exasperating (and sometimes dangerous) at the age of three! 

[pinkie]

So our feb 2013 son has never been independent. He still wants us to dress him, sometimes wants us to feed him. I ask him to do little things each day to try to be more jndependent.

Our little guy is totally opposite. His new word is "myself" and wants to do everything himself, especially things he really is too little to do.

[brachysira]

Opposite child here too. My child can get dressed on her own or almost can, but won't try so makes no progress. She has been potty trained for a year, but still needs help to go. She wants to gather toys from around the house for her play, but she won't go to the basement or upstairs alone. My son is nearly 2, and he has forever gone to get his snacks, but she still won't seek anything out. She's afriad to ride her balance bike and says she'll do it when she's 5, and says she'll ride her trike when she's older too. Anything crazy she wants to do, I pretty much say, "okay." She's brave--does water slides, a crazy sledding hill, independent classes...but generally not a risk taker when it's not approved.

She occasionally tries to discipline DS or help with him but mostly she considers him a peer, I think. She tells on him a bit or tells him no, but generally it is not a problem at this point and tends to be in minorly problematic situations where it is actually a bit helpful.

[dc2london]

Oh goodness, this is DS1 to the letter.

[dc2london]

I am always telling him, "You will not out-stubborn me. I am the original stubborn one!" And the frequency with which I say, "Don't parent DS2, he already has 2 parents!"...ugh. classic eldest child

[crimsonandclover]

Yep, while DD2 is very independent and wanting to dress herself or put on her shoes by herself, DD1 is the classic big sibling boss. She makes very one-sided "deals" with DD2 (talks DD2 into letting DD1 play with DD2's brand new toy in exchange for getting to play with a marker that actually belongs to both of them or something similar), tries to parent her, etc. With DD3 now DD1 has started telling *me* what to do, which is cute but also driving me nuts ("Mama, DD3 needs to eat now, you need to feed her." when she just had a bottle 15 minutes ago). She's also very demanding and not at all thankful, which I find way worse than demanding. We're working on it, though.

[beenandgone]

We constantly have the you are not the parent discussion, too. Sigh.

Yes, my middle two are the insanely independent ones. To the point where it's dangerous to them. DS1 went ass over tea kettle over his handle bars yesterday because he was trying to "stand" bike.