Ask:
My son turned 5 i November. Since his little sister has been born he has gotten progressively worse at listening. To the point that he got a note sent home from preschool about it. He is the worst in the morning when he has to get up for school, but he has trouble listening all day. I have to tell him multiple times to do things like get dressed, or put on his shoes, or whatever. I am tired of nagging, yelling, punishing, talking, making a game of it. Current parenting theory tells you to concentrate on the good things he does, but don't the negatives also have to be addressed?
I am at my wit's end with him. I don't know to do to get him to listen to what I tell him. I spend time with my kids as I don't work outside the house. We do projects, experiments, crafts, reading, games etc. Not all day every day, because other things do need to get done, but I do make an effort.
What has worked for anyone who has a challenging child who doesn't want anyone telling them what to do?
Answer:
My ds is 5 also, and he was having some trouble listening as well. He was fine at pre-k, but at home, yikes, he would just totally ignore me. So I started a 'sticker chart' for him with all of the things he's to do on his own, even though I remind him, like brush teeth, put on PJ's, help set table, help with dog. He get's a sticker for everything that he does, and at the end of the week, if he has enough stickers, he gets a prize, or he gets to do something special. This is really working for us right now. Maybe you could try it!
HTH