I love that I do not have the only child who cries ouch when they want attention. It is incredibly hard not to respond to her when she is crying and saying that she is hurt (when I know it is minimal or nonexistent). I am sure that in her mind she is hurt and so it kills me to have her feel like I don't care that she is hurt. That seems to just fuel her feeling that we don't care and yet I don't want to encourage this behavior. It doesn't help that DH thinks alot of this is my fault because I tend to get sucked in to her negotiation/manipulation/arguments. Not so much when she is being really obnoxious but more in the little decisions or instructions throughout the day so that she feels she can argue everything we say.
And thanks polar bear for the cyber hug. Yes the stress is over the top for us all with no end in sight.
