The Terrible Fives

I have no idea why people call the earlier growing stage the terrible twos. It really should be the wonderful twos. Both of my kids have passed this so called terrible twos stage and I still have no inkling why its called the terrible twos.

I love the two year old stage. They're so adorable, so cute, so cuddly, so lovable..... and they do as they are told! No temper tantrums. Ok, maybe a little but certainly not enough to earn the label "terrible".

Its different now that my first has reached five. I would call this stage the challenging five. Its really challenging having to deal with a five year old. My three year old is still cuddly and lovable and cute though rather clingy.

However the five year old..... drives me crazy all day long with her non-stop questions, her constant testing of her limits, her continuous need for reassurances and attention, her quick frustration and anger when she can't do something right, her nighttime fears and wild imaginations. These are so tiring. I really am having trouble dealing with this age compared to the earlier sweet twos.

I must try to be more patient with her as she struggles to understand the world around her, as she grows and tries new things etc. I'm not the most patient person and my patient runs thin easily with her. Where is the sweet little girl I knew? I hope I can guide her through this stage so that she doesn't turn out to be ill tempered and impatient like me. I'm beggining to see more signs of me in her as she is begginning to behave more and more like me ie the way I behave when I get impatient with her and yell at her. Help!