Q: I have a three and a half years old daughter. I have noticed that these days she is behaving a bit different. She wants to wear all the dresses that she used to wear when she was 1. She even wants to wear a diaper and wants to go to school in that. Actually, in the last 1 year there have been many new arrivals in our family. One more thing, she is repeating her class for the second year. So she is a bit senior to all the children around her. Please tell me how should we handle her? Should I listen to her and do what she wants? Or should I say no to all these things and tell her that she is grown up?

A:You have put your finger on the root of the problem. There are new born infants in the family, who get a lot of attention, admiration and presents. Your daughter probably longs for that. Of course you should not put her in diapers, if she is toilet trained. She cannot fit into clothes she wore two years ago, so there is no point in indulging her every wish. Be gentle and persuasive with her and tell her that it is nice to be 3 years old and to dress like one and behave like one. Show her pictures of animals and let her see that all living things grow up. Assure her that she will have your time and attention.