And I thought age 3 was difficult...

Last night left me feeling like a parent failure. Man I though age 3 was tough. 5.5 brings a new meaning to the word/concept of tough parenting!

I just don't know what to do anymore. DD has been really misbehaving all week. Lied Tuesday, faked being sick to stay home from school. (Admitted that later in the day, and ARGH, DH enabled her... another story/vent for another time). She's had a pee/soil herself incident every day this week at school and at home, but last night was a doozy.

We went to parents/family night at her pre-school. Tons of kids all under 5, parents, teachers, basic insanity.

We arrived at 5pm. Gathered up our child and headed into the classroom. All the mom's were stashing their pocket books in their kids cubby's. I asked DD if it would be okay if I placed mine in her cubby as well; to keep it safe. She said yes, and was happy to share her cubby. So in went my purse and jacket over it to protect/hide it.

We proceed to gather and gab, then have dinner. After dinner, DH was off in a corner talking to a dad, and I was chatting with a mom friend. DD was running around with all the children. I decided I needed to go sit and headed to the reading area. And found my daughter and a gaggle of small kids digging through my purse shouting "I'm RICH!" and scooping up the contents of my wallet and pocket book.

I was so pissed off! I glared at DD, walked to the center of the children, calmly but seriously asked for all my things back, explained rather sternly that my purse was NOT a toy or game. The children returned my items and I grabbed my bag and attempted to re-assemble it making certain I did indeed get all my contents back. (Thank goodness my purse wasn't that full). Then they of course scattered.

I told DD what she did was VERY naughty, and that we were now going to leave, immediately. *we had planned to stay for dessert and schmoozing, but I decided due to this really bad thing, it was time to leave.*

She violated my personal space. She took my things without even asking. It could have been so much worse. I have adult medications in my purse, and nail clippers, and hand sanitizer... I can't even comprehend how bad this could have turned out.

We grabbed our things and said our goodbyes and left. We talked to DD and explained how very very very bad this all was and how even though she is saying she's sorry there will have to be a punishment.

After talking with DH we decided to pull TV for 2 days/nights. So no more TV for her until Saturday. AND if she does do this again, or goes into any of our personal spaces, like nightstands, dressers, etc., she will loose TV for a week, or worse. (She really likes her TV time...)

I did not tell the other parents what happened. It wasn't their kids fault, it was my kid, and everything was accounted for so I know no one ingested any medication. I did not tell the teacher(s).

I wonder if I should?

And now I feel like I'm the failure. I trusted my kid. She's never gone into my bag before. I thought leaving it in her cubby would be safe. I was so wrong. As DH has pointed out, this is as much my fault as it is hers. (FWIW, I 100% disagree with him)

How can I possibly take care of 2? I can't even handle one.

I was in tears. This entire incident has really rattled me. I get that she's acting out and probably to seek attention. I know I haven't been super there for her. I blame the pregnancy, but is that even fair? I've been so sore and tired for so many weeks. I'm the only one working, so I'm really fried by days end. YES, I've used the TV to be a babysitter cause I lack the energy to do so. Just recently I've been able to get myself out of bed on the weekends and back to helping some with laundry and errands, but it really is doing a number on me.

Did I act correctly in my response to ending the bad situation and removing DD from the event? Should I have done more? Less??

What would you have done? What should I do if this happens again?