6 Year Old Suddenly Throwing tantrums..AGAIN

Why don't you ask him?

He's not a baby anymore. He has thoughts and ideas and fears. Talk to him. Tell him that you see that he's having a hard time behaving lately, and since you're his mom and it's your job to make sure he grows up to be a good, kind, honest man, you'd like to know what you can do to help.

We're so quick to sweep our kids off to the pediatrician like a pet to the vet, especially when they're little and they can't say what's wrong. But he's big enough to talk to you now...see if you can glean something from his bright little brain.

When he talks to you, be open minded. Consider his feelings and his level of critical thinking ability. See if you can work together to figure out a plan. I'll bet the farm that he doesn't like his behavior any more than you do, he just doesn't know what he should do.

Good luck! And let us know how it goes!

When he acts like that and then calms down like nothing happened, do YOU act like nothing happened, just thankful the storm is over? You must address his unacceptable behavior once he has calmed down and he should receive a consequence. He needs to learn that slamming doors, throwing stuff, etc. will stop or else! Our kids know that my husband and I absolutely will NOT tolerate that kind of behavior and it will result in another consequence. If our son loses his DS for a day and he starts to throw a fit, I tell him to calm down or he will lose it for two days or he will lose all electronics (tv, wii, etc.) for the entire day.
The reason he may act better at school is because it is structured. He may just be a kid who likes a set routine or schedule. Summertime can be difficult for kids who prefer to have a lot of structure.

My niece had this same problem.
My SIL took her to a social worker to get through it. They basically learned that she was having trouble processing her emotions (obviously, right), and that a complete revisit to teaching "coping" was needed.

My SIL started over, and addressed things with her like she was a toddler.
"We're going to go, we're going to having, and then we're going to go home."
It's helped immensely.

Option B, that my child behavioral psychologist best friend suggested, was to have her write a "self story".
It's basically her writing a story about herself, and how a situation will make her feel. You walk through it with her.

Overall, it's about re-addressing their emotions, preparing them for them, and the inveitable outcome of a day.

Good luck!

I have a six year old...so some of what you are describing is the age, unfortunately.

The first "behavior" to just ignore is the bed wetting. That can be common up to 7 or 8...maybe even older and is beyond their control. Unless he standing on the bed and peeing then THAT is a different story. So, just layer the sheets with waterproof pads between each layer...strip the layer and move on with your day or night.

To me it doesn't sound like ADHD or any other "disorder" because he can control himself at school. If it was something with a diagnosis he would do it any where and everywhere. He seems to only behave this way at home and with you/family, because he can...

You and your husband need to come up with a consequence that happens every time he throws a tantrum and follow through with it. You are not being mean to him you are teaching him to control his temper with you at home. He can do it at school, he can do it at home.

Our son will throw a huge fit/tantrum when he is disciplined, if he is sent to his room or loses tv. Once he calms down he receives another consequence because of the tantrum. We have just started to give a consequence for the tantrum and have already started to see a results of him throwing fewer and less drastic ones.

Another thing we have taught our son is two ways he can calm himself down...we taught these when he was calm to be prepared for the next time we saw him getting ready to lose control. One choice is for his to sit cross legged on the floor rest his hands on his knees close his eyes and practice taking deep breaths. The other is to sit on the edge of his bed with his hands folded and count slowly.

Sending you a hug from one mom of a six year old to another.

If the color chart worked for him at school, make one for home. all you need is a piece of sturdy paper, red, yellow and green crayons and a clothespin clip. Mine has a gold star at the top. Break the day into AM, PM and evening and let him start over after lunch and after dinner if he moves off green. The reward could be a sticker or an M&M or ?? or a chart full of check marks that gets cashed in for a bigger treat when he earns 50. A great treat would be an outing with just him and a parent! to get ice cream or mini golf or ? Kids crave attention and negative attention is much better than not enough attention