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Original poster

7 year olds

4 replies

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 17/02/2026 15:13

I’ve got a 7 year old DNephew who I’ve been looking after at my mum’s house with her for the past 2 days. He gets into strops easily though. And messes around, like with the electric mixer when we made a cake just now. His other grandparents can’t cope with him and aren’t keen! Last summer when I took him to their house he was throwing toy figures out of the window into the garden and his 5 year old cousin was telling me and saying it wasn’t good was it? He also made his DM cry when she took him and his cousins to Paris last spring, no idea why.

So is this typical for a 7 year old or do we have a rogue one?

OP posts:
ToKittyornottoKitty · 17/02/2026 15:15

Poor kid, grandparents ‘not keen’, no wonder he acts out. He sounds like a normal kid to me

KillTheTurkey · 17/02/2026 15:18

If he makes his parents cry then we have two possible scenarios here:

  1. His parents aren’t used to putting in appropriate boundaries (not comfortable with asserting themselves/don’t know how to handle kids) and he’s acting out in search of a boundary.
  2. He’s got some unmet needs and his behaviour is reflecting this.

You can stick to your boundaries, but be aware that if it’s (2) then you might have to adjust your expectations a bit.

Original poster
Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 17/02/2026 15:21

ToKittyornottoKitty · 17/02/2026 15:15

Poor kid, grandparents ‘not keen’, no wonder he acts out. He sounds like a normal kid to me

They are very strict. Quite old school and posh.

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5 year olds 7 year olds Behaviour & development
Original poster
Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 17/02/2026 15:22

KillTheTurkey · 17/02/2026 15:18

If he makes his parents cry then we have two possible scenarios here:

  1. His parents aren’t used to putting in appropriate boundaries (not comfortable with asserting themselves/don’t know how to handle kids) and he’s acting out in search of a boundary.
  2. He’s got some unmet needs and his behaviour is reflecting this.

You can stick to your boundaries, but be aware that if it’s (2) then you might have to adjust your expectations a bit.

Afaik his parents do put in boundaries but his mum is a fan of gentle parenting. I think she’s lost it sometimes though as he can be testing.

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