neighbor kid

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

I think there's one of these kids in every neighborhood...

This little girl who lives down the street is about to wear me out.  I'll be so glad when we move out of town!  If she sees any sign of life at our house (ie. if we open the front door or blinds, go out to get the paper or mail, get in or out of the truck, any motion at all) she is here, sometimes with her little brother and sometimes without.  Rather than ask if the girls can play, she informs me that she is here to play and her mom says she can.  Sometimes I run her off, but sometimes I don't have the energy to do it. Heaven forbid she gets her foot in the front door, because then you might as well count on having to fix something she broke later, and you might as well give up going anywhere for the day because she's there for a while.  Today she got in.  She took the phone and called her mom without asking me first if it was OK if she stayed a while.  Her mom said she could stay for half an hour and then her mom informed me that she could stay half an hour.  When thirty minutes had gone by, I went to tell her to go home, and she starts arguing with me that, no, she is not going home because they are going to play dress up.  She had out one of DD's nicer dresses and was about to put it on.  Last time she did that, she took it out and got red clay all over it in the back yard.    I pointed at the door and said, "No you're not.  You're going home because you told your mother that you'd go home in half an hour."  It still took another ten to fifteen minutes to actually get her out the door.   The child would argue with a brick wall!  Our house up north can't sell fast enough!

[StinkerBell]

Maybe laying down a few rules before she enters the home. Tell her if she does not obey rules (like arguing when you tell her to go home) she will not be allowed to come back to play for at least a week and stick to it.

[Sassy]

Her mom is probably relieved that she's at someone else's house...     There's some kids, no matter what rules you lay down, they will still argue - unless you take hold of the kid & physically take the child back home - I know, I had one like that...     I studied every book on child rearing there was, just about, before he was born - I watched other parents with their kids & could critique exactly what they were doing wrong if they'd only asked & vowed my kids would never act that way...  was I ever overwhelmed...  I've mentioned before, my oldest had Tourette's & OCD & if you believe in ADHD, he had it - I couldn't leave him in the nursery at church, he was kicked out of kindergarten...  what can I say - he was quite a challenge, but he's a sweetheart - still has some issues, but he's really trying hard, has a strong faith & mentors a lot of kids who have problems or terrible homelife - takes them to church, on outings to the river or other places.  One family in particular - my son lived next to the family - there was the grandmother, who worked & supported the family, the daughter had 9 children by the time she was 29...     guess she didn't believe in birth control but at least she didn't abort them - both fathers were in prison.  The kids just ran wild & had no direction.  Anyway, my son took them about 5 of them under his wing (one set of twins) - their ages ranged from 10-14 or 15 - anyway, they're 15-20 now & on the whole doing very well - he still brings them to church about once a month & tries to do something with them - it's made an incredible difference in their lives & also in my son's - he can see the difference his dedication to them has made in their lives. 

You never know...  I'm not real patient, probably couldn't have done that myself...  but I'm proud of my son for what he's done.  I have one of my granddaughters here - spent a couple nights - she's really good when she's here but even that wears me out, lol - we've done a lot of swimming & she wants me to take a walk with her right now, so I better finish this & go outside - she has been very patient!

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

   Sassy, I think you're right... I only have to deal with her when she's here, but her mom has her all the time!     Her little brother is sweet as he can be, but he's nearly five and still wearing diapers.  Certainly isn't because he isn't smart.  But the eldest is really a handful... so is my oldest daughter, but she pales in comparison to neighbor girl.  One time I did just about have to get physical with her... I walked her back home and thankfully her mom had gone looking for her and met us halfway!  Whew. 

[apaknad]

nice story sassy. i am single but worked with severly retarded children before becoming a corrections officer and. it can be quite a handful and i got to go home after 8 hours. bless you for your patience and understanding.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

My husband is one of the most patient men on the planet, but I've seen him open the door a crack and say, "Go home, Dora."  And then he shuts the door on her before she gets a chance to argue.