Okay well let's see....I'm new to this, but I felt its time to ask for some advice from people who know what I'm going through. I am a single mom of 2 girls Erica - 6 and Isa -
13 months the reasons why I'm a single parent are a whooole nother topic. I work past full time as a computer engineer for HP. Past full time meaning a lot of overtime, about 20 - 25 hours every two weeks. Lately since Isa's 1st birthday it's been especially hard with Erica. I have an idea that it's jealousy, she's used to me spoiling her. Well I try to give her special attention taking her to the fair and we'll go to the park together and on paydays I take her to Izzys which is a buffet place that she loves. Even with our alone time I don't see it changing at all and I don't know what else to do. She throws massive screaming fits and has accidents all the time, I know there's no abuse, I've never been in a relationship where she's left alone with the man. She is taking control of the household. I work so much to make ends meet that when I spend too much alone time with her I'm depriving Isa.

Is there anyone out there that has ever had this problem? What did you do? Or maybe your going through it and maybe we could help eachother. Well there's my story.

Angie

Don't know what to say to help, how long has it been going on? Can you talk to Erica about how you are Isa's mom too? At 6 she is just starting to be able to reason and think logically so that might not fully work.

At a year old Isa is just starting to be her own person and right now your 2 girls aren't play mates but you can try to talk to Erica about the times when she can play with her little sis.

My 3 youngest, especially the girls, fight over who gets who much of my attention. It is also funny to see my 27yo have a play argument with the 9yo over who's daddy I am, and then the all go through who's daddy I was first.

Welcome Angie,

Sibling rivalry is normal. I have two boys who are about 3 years apart and when they were toddlers, they fought for individual attention. The fits are normal for their age as well as getting bumps and brusises.

When I work a lot of overtime, my boys used to be more demanding for my attention and would even stay up late for it. I would drop some of the daily chores for the weekend and play with with my kids so they would feel better about the schedule change.

Find a cooling off spot for your daughter to have her fit. You need to remain calm yourself because children feed off of your emotions. Tell her you love her and when she uses her talking voice you will be able to listen and hear her better.

If they are fighting over a toy, encourage sharing. Allow them 5 minutes with it individually, then they have to switch. You can use a timer to help them learn to wait. If they still fight, the toy is on time out till tomorrow. ((I have more ideas with this, just let me know))

Thanks so much for the advice, I think I will invest for a timer and see if that works. I guess I just wasn't sure if this was all normal. I know I have 2 children but they're still young and I'm still learning. So thank you soo much