My 8 year old ds has always had a fiery temper. I suspect he gets it from me! Over the years, I have understood what the triggers are: food, lack of sleep, and more recently unbelievable frustration with his younger brother (2 years younger). I also have a dd 2 years older. I would consider myself to be a good loving mummy, who has pretty much put everything on hold for last 10 years in order to devote time and energy to children. I try to guide them towards good behaviour using all the usual methods. But I feel a bit lost with my 8 yr old. He is full of emotion and anger.
Tonight he stamped on his little brother because he bought Mayfair during a game of Monopoly. I was furious. He was brimming over with anger and frustration. He told me that he wanted to swear when he gets angry, so I told him to just let it out, if it would help, just this once. The words that came out of his mouth were really bad! Not from home, I hasten to add. There have been a lot of problems with swearing at school. But I felt at such a loss as to know how things had got to this stage. I rang my husband in tears, who told me not to worry. But I am worried. I don't think it is OK for a young child to want to swear like that. He has always been quite precocious in his vocabulary, always preferring to communicate with words rather than fists. Maybe this is an extension of that. But I really want to tell him off and for him to know that there are consequences for this. It's my fault because I told him to let it out, but now I don't really know what to do with it. Any advice?