five year old temper

[stone58]

My five year old daughter is very short tempered.  It is getting worse.  If she doesn't get her way she screams she hates me and hits at me.  Five minutes later she tells me she loves me.  Sometimes when I gove her time out she laughs at me.  We have a 8 yo boy and a 2 yo girl.  She is in the middle, starting kindergarten soon.  Any thoughts for help?

[chincha]

my daughter is turning 5 in 2 weeks in her 2nd  week of kindergarten and hates school. She has tantrums by throwing herself on floor, running after me, when i take her to class and i have to pry her off of me.During class she'll be fine for awhile, then start her,"i want my mommy!". Last friday she kicked and scratched teacher and was sent to principal's and suspended for 1 day. The school suggest i can stay in class with her. Please help us.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

I'd approach this strictly from a behavior management perspective. Follow the guidelines in Lynn Clark's book SOS Help for Parents (see www.sosprograms.com). This sounds like a normal spectrum child behavior problem and does not invite any alarm - it just requires systematic management.