“Why do I have to tell you the same thing ten times?” If you have ever said this to your child, you are definitely not alone. A child refusing to get ready, melting down over something tiny or suddenly snapping at everyone can feel like a deliberate challenge to your authority. But what if the child is not choosing to be difficult? Sometimes, what looks like disobedience is actually a child who has simply had enough. Children do not always have the vocabulary or emotional skills to say, “I am overwhelmed,” so their behaviour says it for them. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that children often communicate stress and unmet needs through behaviour because they may not yet have the tools to explain what is happening internally.
