Why would a 4-year old cry all the time?

Question

I am a preschool teacher and I have this 4 year old that breaks down crying whenever she has a hard time doing anything or has to do something that she doesn't want to or sometimes for no reason at all. I have tried many different things, talking to her about it, ignoring her, cuddling with her and nothing works. She does this at home and the mom is clueless as to what to do. Began about 3 months ago and the mom said it began after she had strep throat.

Answer 1

maybe she has too much stress on her mind or she is really angry and tired of failing....make her do sumthin that she can accomplish and build up her confidence..or thinks she is hopeless or doesnt have any friends.....or mom and dad fight or she needs more attention from her mom and dad?.. When im sick.. i get alot of attention and sumtimes i like it...i dont like loosing it but now im older I get over it..☺

(excuse my grammer,and spelling...im tired..and i can do better.)☺

Answer 2

Maybe mom and dad need to have her evaluated by a therapist. Something more could be going on than just sensitivity. Depression could be one.

Answer 3

I work in a preschool part time and i've delt with this. It sounds like she is just very sensitive. When it happened in our class the child started getting an attitude where they would say "i cant do anything right! i cant do this" etc and it was heartbreaking

whet we did was we just encouraged the child. "I know your getting fustrated, but i love the beatuiful colors your using" it took a while but encouraging the things the child did right helped. some kids ive worked with got very upset because their work wasnt "perfect" i just explain to them that everyone does thing a little different and that it was special/perfect because THEY made it and tried their best.

Answer 4

Could be frustrated but I've noticed when some children cry a lot when they "do things wrong" it's because they are being put down, overly pressured, or even abused at home. There is a possibility that the child is being punished for messing up on homework. But I recall in one instance where the child (8 yrs old) was doing this and I later learned that she had recently found out that she was adopted (which caused a major drop her in self esteem). You should probably get to the botttom of what's going on in her life and if nothing else adds up then chuck it up to frustration.

Answer 5

I have a child like this too. I think it is frustration. She is very bright . I think the best thing you can do instead of focusing on her crying is try to give her coping techniques. When she is about to cry, Tell her to take a deep breath and relax. Punishing her will not work because she is already feeling bad. You can't help feelings. Help her deal with her feelings. Put words to her feelings. " Are you frustrated because you want to cut that picture out?" Are your feelings hurt because you feel left out? Replace crying with the real feelings she is having helps her deal with the real issue.

Answer 6

Maybe something else is going on at home... You should try to find out, the mom may not even know that someone may be hurting her emotionally in some way... And then again should could just be a sensitive child....I would try to figure out the root of  the problem... it could be nothing...

Answer 7

I used to babysit for a child that did that -I tried all those things that you have tried. The best thing to do was to ignore the crying and eventually, he would climb out of his chair to come and play with us - the play would always win out.  But years later, I found out he was being sexually abused by his older brother. Then I felt horrible for ignoring his crying but of course, I didn't know.  All you can do is continue reassuring and documenting everything - anything she says or does that is suspicious. and if she does say anything suspicious, you would be mandated to report that to the local child protective services.  

Or on the other hand, having strep throat might have been traumatic for her and it's just taking a long road to get her back on track.  Be patient and keep the mom posted.  Maybe something will turn up that will help her.

Have you tried positive reinforcement?  We have a child that uses coins and if she participates (she's a bullhead!) in our activity, she gets to put a coin in a cup.  You could use the coins (or stickers or whatever you have) for this child - oh no crying, remember, we have stickers if you can do this.  Then lots of praise for being a big girl. It will teach her self control and she will be very proud of herself for accomplishing it.

I sure hope nothing serious is going on, but she just might be one of those sensitive children. Good luck!

Answer 8

Some kids are so sensitive that all it takes is one bad experience to change their behavior for a long time. This might be that child. Maybe she misbehaved, maybe someone made a remark that something she was doing wasn't perfect. Maybe she has somehow gotten the message somewhere that perfection is all that is allowed, and is overwhelmed. Maybe something is going on at home. You may never know. All you can do is keep reassuring her but don't make it a pity party. If it keeps up too much longer maybe an assessment bu a therapist is in order.