Nanny To The Rescue: How Do I Make My 3-Year-Old Stop Taking Me For Granted?

Our in-house nanny answers your baby, toddler and preschooler questions…

Q: My 3-year-old daughter behaves well when I’m away at work but the minute she sees me, she’ll usually start misbehaving. It’s so embarrassing when I have guests. Are there tips you think can help?

Your daughter knows doing that always gets your attention and won’t quit until you stop reinforcing it. Talk to your child about the need to stop such behaviour and agree on a consequence which you must always enforce, like withdrawing a privilege she’s fond of.

Whenever a repeat occurs, let her know briefly and clearly that she has just lost a privilege because of her misbehaviour and ignore her. Resist the urge to yell but make sure your threat is carried out.

It will also help to create time to bond more with your daughter to curb her attention seeking tendencies and evaluate your discipline techniques. Are there set limits? Are they age-appropriate? Does she understand these limits? Do you let her get away with anything most times? Do you issue empty threats? These largely determine whether she’ll learn to conduct herself properly as time goes on or not.