Badly behaved 7/8yr old- regressing
Discussion
Stress. Try asking him about school.My youngest (7 now) a couple of years ago was often really grumpy and not very responsive. He has hearing issues, but it turns out that the root cause of his partial deafness was a rare disease that caused (non malignant) growth inside his inner ear. In turn, this was causing frequent low level infections. Put simply, he felt rotten a lot of the time, but just plain didn't have the words to tell us (3 operations later and he's well on the mend). I'm not saying your child has this or anything similar, just that there might be something wrong that he's struggling to articulate.
MYOB said:
My experience suggests that no 7 year old can articulate themselves with a great deal of clarity on an emotional level. Just be there, be a supportive dad and don't pressure them.
You will know when there's something more serious to worry about. Kids have "phases" and moods too.
Just wait until they are teenagers, especially teenage daughters if they are like mine.You will know when there's something more serious to worry about. Kids have "phases" and moods too.
stuartmmcfc said:
Typical end of school year exhaustion
he spends all day knackered but being on best behaviour but when he gets home the mask slips and it’s horrid.
My 5 year old is coming up on this now - its a combination of things really.he spends all day knackered but being on best behaviour but when he gets home the mask slips and it’s horrid.
He isn't horrid by any stretch, but he can sometimes be a little silly and argumentative. His behaviour at school is exemplary, and he loves it there and the teachers love him. He snaps to attention whenever he sees his teacher out and about.
They are under a lot of pressure to be good, and when they get home they know there is a little leash to push at the boundaries and let the safety valve off. They know that they can get into trouble but mummy and daddy will still love them, whereas at school the bridges get burned sometimes.
They also go through a hormone surge anywhere between 5 and 8 - and little boys especially can get a bit grotty.
I sometimes think he wants to be taken more seriously, for example if he says something and you correct him (say he is mistaken about a fact), he can get annoyed you haven't taken his word for it - so I think there is a little frustration creeping in there as he still is getting his head round the nuances of these things.
And it is also tempting to think, they can process their emotions like us - when a lot of younger junior school children don't yet posses the vocabulary to understand how they feel.
So it really is a bit of 'all of the above' I think.
At his reception class they have a system where by the have a little chart with a rainbow with a golden pot at one end and a 'thinking cloud' at the other. Normal behaviour = rainbow, especially bad is the cloud and the golden pot is for especially good. The cloud comes with a disincentive and the pot an incentive (no point in having JUST stick in my opinion, you need some carrot). We have adopted this at home, and to be honest his own perspective of the 'shame' of being on the cloud - the reputation damage he imbues it with - means he has never strayed into that territory!
Edited by Vocal Minority on Tuesday 12th December 09:45
Agree with the time of year and tiredness.
My little girl is 4 - 5 in February and normally very well behaved although strong minded which is a good thing.
However throw in tiredness after school and getting "hangry" then you end up with a situation like I had yesterday where she got pushed by another child at the end of the day, went and told the teacher who dismissed what she said so she stamped on her foot as she didn't like her answer.......
Cue, phone call to us and a strong chat and confiscation of toys and a word in santa's ear and made her write a letter to the teacher
My little girl is 4 - 5 in February and normally very well behaved although strong minded which is a good thing.
However throw in tiredness after school and getting "hangry" then you end up with a situation like I had yesterday where she got pushed by another child at the end of the day, went and told the teacher who dismissed what she said so she stamped on her foot as she didn't like her answer.......
Cue, phone call to us and a strong chat and confiscation of toys and a word in santa's ear and made her write a letter to the teacher
Definitely time if the year there is a lot going on there is probably a school play which our 4 year old is getting very anxious about. Plus dark mornings and dark evening means they can’t play outside much add in the excitement of Christmas and no wonder it all goes to s
t. Our son was up at 4.30 this morning as high as a kite thank god for coffee.
t. Our son was up at 4.30 this morning as high as a kite thank god for coffee. anonymous said:
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My son, now a charming 16 year old, went through a similar phase. Who is he mixing with out of interest?So much 'attitude' can be picked up from other kids.
With my lad, I had to assume everything he said was untrue - so everything was fact-checked, in front of him. He soon realised it was so much easier to tell the truth. Took some time though.
We had similar with our son earlier in the year (similar age - he's now 8).
Went from being happy to not wanted to go to school (tears in the playground), not contributing in class etc.
He was getting a little bit of stick from some of the football boys but the real root cause was a urine infection. A good dose of antibotics and he perked right up.
His he drinking enough during the day? The school seems to try and stop them going to the loo during classes to limit disruption, then he would forget to go at breaks. This holding it in led to a few accidents on the way home and a reduction in liquid consumed by him during the day, which in turn probably led to the infection
Went from being happy to not wanted to go to school (tears in the playground), not contributing in class etc.
He was getting a little bit of stick from some of the football boys but the real root cause was a urine infection. A good dose of antibotics and he perked right up.
His he drinking enough during the day? The school seems to try and stop them going to the loo during classes to limit disruption, then he would forget to go at breaks. This holding it in led to a few accidents on the way home and a reduction in liquid consumed by him during the day, which in turn probably led to the infection
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