Yes-- what MoN said.

Understand that most other parents, though-- and parenting advice books/experts-- have NO idea what you're up against with a HG+ child who has the memory and determination and self-awareness of a nine or ten year old, harnessed to the empathy, egocentrism, and lack of life experience of a child of this chronological age.

I'm deeply sympathetic-- this was a very lonely and frightening parenting phase for me. HG+ children can truly push their parents into places that most parents cannot even imagine, and while calling their behavior "manipulative" is mostly incorrect, since it isn't specifically goal-directed toward a particular outcome on the part of another person... they do have superhuman persistence and drive. These are not typical toddlers.

Find a way to safely be able to walk away and count to ten. Seriously. You're going to need it.

What is your childcare situation like? We found that poor childcare settings seemed to put our DD into overdrive to "make up for lost time" during the hours that she was with us. It was brutal.



Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.