Lately my kids have been driving me beyond crazy.

They’re 3 and 5 and I know they’re young, they’re learning to push boundaries. I get it. This feels beyond normal to me at this point.

My 5 year old started kindergarten and has gotten points deducted daily for talking out of turn and not following directions the first time…which is literally what he does at home constantly. I’ll be on the phone with his dad who works out of state and he’s constantly talking to me while I’m in mid conversation. I remind him I’m on the phone and he can wait until I’m off unless it’s something important…it usually never is and our phone calls are short. Less than 5 minutes. He interrupts adults while they’re talking. If I direct him to do something he almost never can complete it. It’s a simple task. My 3 year old can complete it easier than he can. I will fuss him all day, even take privileges away, I will sit and talk to him and ask what’s going on why is he not listening and he just says he can’t help it. Now I know we both have ADHD/ADD. His dad is the hyperactive type. I’m the inattentive type. So I try not to be hard on him bc it’s always possible he’s struggling with it too, but again we don’t want to diagnose him either. I’m just burnt out and exhausted disciplining him. I’m always the mean mom or the one that’s yelling too much.

His sister almost has the same issue. Constantly talks to me when I’m busy or talking to someone else. I do give them my proper attention outside of these instances so I don’t understand why they keep having to be corrected over and over when I’ve done it a million times. I know some interruption is normal…but they do it so excessively that I get overwhelmed in situations that involve me, my kids, and other people. Another thing he does is he has a lot of aggression and he clenches his jaw and invades his sisters personal space by pushing her or throwing toys at her. He’ll hit her with his scooter or just pick on her and chase her until she cries. It’s like he gets joy out of that.

Also today, I stepped into the garage while they were having lunch and in those 1-2 minutes they grabbed their lunch and threw it in the trash and I walked in while they were putting their dishes in the dishwasher and I was so angry because my son knew that he was doing by throwing it away. It was barely eaten. They assumed they were getting a snack after they “finished” their meal . So I told them no they’re not now, lunch is over. They both got upset and cried. Idk what to do anymore, my husband says put them in their rooms, spank them. I’d be doing that all day if I did that kind of punishment. I’m lost here.