Child's lies and behaviour tearing the family apart

Anon Imperfect Mum

Child's lies and behaviour tearing the family apart

I am at a complete loss, and if something doesn't change soon I will have no choice but to walk away. I have 3 kids, 3, 9 and 10. Miss 10 is a typical kid, can be a bit of a brat sometimes but is generally good. Mr 3 has special needs and is the kindest, sweetest little boy I've ever met. Then there's miss 9. She enjoys annoying myself and her sister, just pushing and pushing until we lose it. Any attempt to discipline or ignore her fails because she will just completely ignore me and keep going no matter the consequences, and if she doesn't get a rise out of us she just keeps going until she does, even if it takes all day. Even when we try to walk away she follows and keeps going. Then when someone eventually does snap she claims to be the victim. For example if 9 pushes 10 past her limit and 10 screams at her, pushes her etc she will come running to me or whoever else is there crying that 10 said something mean or pushed her as if she did nothing wrong. She also lies a lot, trashes the house, breaks everyone's stuff, completely disrespects me and so on.
I had assumed it was an attention issue, so I tried to give her more positive attention, more one on one time, and not give attention to the negative behaviours, but she seemed to think that it meant she could keep getting away with it. I tried time outs, taking away devices, rewards for good behaviour, and everything else I could think of, but it didn't work. I ended up taking her to see a psychologist to try and figure out why she is acting out and how to address the behaviours. They were unable to give me any answers and all it did was make things worse. She told so many lies that they had safety concerns which resulted in a social worker coming to my house every week. Then she started telling the social worker that things are really bad at school and nothing was being done about it, that 10 and I are always mean to her and a whole bunch of other stuff. From there it's just completely escalated.
Last year I would get calls from the school every few weeks telling me she forgot her lunch, which we later found she was leaving in her bag or just deliberately leaving at home. This year I had been checking almost every day that she had lunch, and since the phone calls stopped I assumed the problem was resolved. Turns out she was throwing her food in the bin almost every day and telling her new teacher that I don't feed her, and the teacher was worried about her getting into trouble if the school called me so teacher was making her lunches at school instead. I eventually got a call this week saying I need to bring lunch and found out this was happening. While I was there I mentioned that we had just found out her glasses had been missing for a few weeks (she only needs them at school) only to be told they disappeared in week 2 and that she said they were getting repaired and implied I was too poor to pay for the repairs. 9 also told the teacher that our house burnt down so we were homeless, and a bunch of other stuff that had her believing that she was being neglected and living in poverty. Then when I confronted her about it she told me her teacher is lying. While I found a solution to the lunch situation and have taken her to get new glasses, I just don't know how to make the lies stop.
And now to top it all off the social worker said right in front of her that if she keeps trashing the house and refusing to clean up her mess then I need to stop trying to make her clean it up and do it myself, so of course when I tell 9 to do something like clean her room she tells me to do it myself, she doesn't want to, she doesn't have to. I can't live like this. I'm so tired and miserable all the time, and I just can't do it.

Posted in:  Mental Health, Anxiety & Depression, Behaviour, Kids

12 Replies

Anon Imperfect Mum

Consistent consequences - let her know when she lies this will happen. You may need to have visual cues at home. Very structured approach. These are the house rules, when the are broken A,B,C happens. When they are followed D, E, F happens... have positives up and negatives.

Get the school on board have an interview where you discuss everything you have with us. If you work as a team hopefully they will be less inclined to believe the lies and they may give you a heads up. Or even support ideas.

Visit pediatrician - girls can often mask behaviours issues that maybe diagnosed til later. It might mean you get some support.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

Sounds like her perception of things is different. So youre saying manipulative, deliberate, trouble making, seeing her really negatively but ypu also say she really believes it herself.
I find it helps to micromanage. Bring your expectations down, take all that negativity off when they say or do things, and intercept and explain early. Don't let it get to the end where someone else has reacted and shes now surprised and hurt, explain it as shes going, step by step. And hear and acknowledge her side as well, while gently coaching her through how everyone else saw it. It sounds like shes pushed to her edge as well, as youre clearly sick of her and dont like much about her. Try changing that. Even children need us to ignore the bad behaviour and connect. And from there, its much easier to control the bad behaviour. I would also have her back at a psychologist to help you figure her out and work out how to parent her, theyll help with strategies and also with your own frustrations and not knowing the right way to handle things shes doing.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

I’d be taking her to a paediatrician and child psychiatrist for evaluation.
This is beyond the norm and I think she needs a thorough look at. I think the psychologist let you down.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

ADHD

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Anon Imperfect Mum

I was pretty much like that as a kid. Later diagnosed with inattentive type ADHD.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

Behavioural paediatrician ASAP.

My sister was EXACTLY THE SAME! The lunches - same situation, the lies about home life, police visits to check up on welfare and so much more.

It’s only gotten worse as time goes on, she is now 10 x as bad and a criminal.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

Go to the dr and get a referral for a child psychologist. They are fantastic and will help out. They will also know what her issue is and get to the bottom of it. Also support you in the meantime. Get your 10 free visits and if you need more the dr can do another referral.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

Could write this myself about my now 13yo daughter. She is still displaying all of those behaviours. Now telling some councellors she is fine, while others that she has a terrible home life. It’s also causing problems within my marriage now!
I have tried to get “help” since she was in year 2 (now year 8). She has struggled at school and socially since year 1. No one would listen to me. My GP (few different ones in the same office even) wouldn’t give me referrals to specialists over the years. I’ve tried consequences. Soft touch. Hard line. More positive attention. Behaviour charts. One in one time. Sometimes I don’t even want to be around her at all! I’m literally at my wits end.
We are now at the stage where we see school councillor and outside psychologist and a referral to a psychiatrist (with a long wait) for a hopeful diagnosis of ADHD (which is what a bunch of doctors etc keep telling me, but aren’t allowed to diagnose).
I don’t know what else to do. It’s certainly not “normal” teenage behaviour. And I worry about her as well before she just keeps making stupid decisions and will end up with no friends on top of every thing else if she keeps on this path.

I have no real useful advice for you. Just keep pushing for some sort of help from an expert and google ADHD in girls. My daughter displays so many of those attributes and more. Don’t give up, it bloody gets harder as they get older!

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Anon Imperfect Mum

Why does every single child who misbehaves has to have a diagnoses and medication etc. can’t their just be plain and simple naughty children. This one just seems to be a terror and needs to be taught she can’t lie and misbehave like this. Not every behavioural issue is a mental health issue surely. There are just badly behaved children in this world

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Anon Imperfect Mum

And not every ‘badly behaved child’ is just that either.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

I would start by having a meeting with the school. If the social worker is at school, I would be telling the principal that the social worker is out of line. You can also say you do not give your daughter permission to see her. I would let them know you will be walking her in with her lunch box every day.
I would then be finding some more help and taking away any privledge she has at home. I would be walking her into school with her lunch box and asking her teacher to make sure she eats it. I would also be explicit in saying that her actions have caused you to not trust her, when she tells lies there are consequences and you being everywhere in her business to ensure she is not lying is a consequence. Every time she lies, it’s a consequence. She misses something, something gets removed ect.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

Oh honey I’m sending you love and support. My 14 year old was and is like this. She is slowly coming around.. I think... but there is no solid one answer. Just know you’re not alone..

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