Rhonda Strohm
I do not agree with behavioral therapy (but I strongly believe in mental health) She is 4, i feel like this is normal. I work as an RBT and use methods from work with her like “first and then statements”. It does not work. So, I just do not want her to feel like shes the problem. I think its her father not providing that stability.
The context: My daughter is 4, she is stubborn and has a lot of bad behavior. Her father and I split when she was 2 and are not on the greatest terms. The household was very toxic with his apathy and my PPD (untreated but has been treated for 3 years) The family we lived with was very toxic (his family) It is also worth noting my daughter does not live with me. I see her weekends. Back to my daughter, she is having a lot of maladaptive behaviors. She says shes "scared" to eat, sleep, and do anything she NEEDS to do. She says she is afraid of bad dreams, and is afraid to eat for illogical reasons. My biggest battle with her is her eating habits. (I can get her to sleep fine, that is not the issue) The topic is her eating and her not listening. She will eat 1-3 bites and say i am full then BEG for snacks. I haven't been giving in but it still persists. I tried asking her father what he does at his house to which he will not tell me. My daughter goes between 4 houses daily. Her grandparents(both maternal and paternal), her fathers gf's, mine. Quite frankly I do not think that is very healthy for her. She needs stability. Her father wants to put her in behavioral therapy
I think for 1 she shouldn’t be going to that many places in a day, everyday. She needs a place that she knows is “home”. The problem with the snacks is maybe the grandparents do this? Or maybe even her dad. She may not want what’s cooked so she won’t eat, then is hungry later and they give her snack foods since she didn’t eat dinner & it’s just become a habit. It’s great you took notice & aren’t giving it, but I doubt it’ll change unless you all get on the same page about it.