Constant complaining

One of my girls (3 yrs 3 months) is constantly complaining about aches and pains. She's always saying that her feet hurt, her head hurts, her tummy hurts, etc., etc. You'd think she was 93 instead of 3 years old! She is a very sensitive kid and high maintenance kid but very social and intelligent.

Does anyone else's kids do this? I'm not sure what to do about it - I feel like she gets plenty of attention. In fact, she probably gets most of my attention because she's so much needier than her sister. I try not to make a big deal out of her aches and pains - just acknowledge that it hurts and tell her I'm sorry but I can't do anything about it. Sometimes, I do try to ignore her complaints because it can be non-stop all day and it can get old.

 

:welcome: to Twinstuff!!! Glad you found us!

I remember growing up and having growing pains. My mom would rub my leg or whatever hurt and it was a lot better. Could this be it? Can you use distraction? Or pay more attention to her twin when this happens? Just trying to brainstorm.

 

Thanks - I seem to have posted under a wrong account. I've actually been here before under another screen name - can't remember the screen name now, though!

 

Both of my boys would complain that their knees hurt for half of their 3rd year. I came to find out that knee pain during this age is very common of a growth spurt in their legs. I remember talking with another mom of a singleton and she was shocked when I mentioned knee pain. Her DS complained of the same thing and she thought he was just making it up.

Her feet may be going though a growth spurt. My DS still tells me his tummy hurts when he's hungry, when he's full or when he needs to have a BM.

 

Yes, I think that her various aches and pains have explanations - she says her tummy hurts before she has to poo, she complains about her legs hurting probably because of growing pains (that's what her doc thought), she'll complain her neck hurts if she was lying in a wierd position, etc. It is just a constant refrain from her that this or that hurts. It's worse when she's tired or out of sorts. I'm hoping it's a phase she'll grow out of because it wears me down!

 

Kepler does this. Just slightly grazing his leg against a (padded!) couch and, "Leg hurt!" Everything is a hurt right now. He pointed out a dot from a marker on his hand and said the cat bit him. I try to acknowledge stuff, but offer that it'll probably feel better soon. I rub it, give a quick hug or kiss and then mention something cool to play with or whatever.

 

My oldest son went through a phase like this as well. He was CONSTANTLY getting hurt for attention seeking. Sometimes it was so blatent - like I would scold him and he would immediately "fall down" and then cry. It drove us nuts. We did our best to not reinforce the behavior, and made lots of effort to give him attention in other ways. I'll be honest, the "phase" probably lasted for a year even with our direct efforts to stop it. Sorry - probably not what you want to hear.