Struggling with 6 Year Old Boy

[Anxious23]

Hi all. Just looking for some reassurance/advice in respect of our 6 year old little boy. He is the youngest of 3 and has always been quite clingy, sensitive and demanding of me. Just recently he has started almost 'acting ' angry. He stamps his feet, he shouts, he throws things...is just generally very difficult (impossible) to reason with. He has always been quite sensitive and got upset easily but the anger is a very recent thing. There are some issues with a quite a few kids with additional needs/behaviour issues in his class which I think he finds stressful. He is very bright but also very easily distracted. Not helped by the fact that he is the youngest in his year group (year 2).

The other big issue we have is he can get VERY silly, very frequently. This gets much worse when he is tired. He makes silly noises, won't listen, is too rough and can be quite rude. His friend came to play tonight and he didn't want him to leave so was physically grabbing him. This was done in a fit of giggles but he was being very rough and the other boy clearly found it funny initially but had had enough. He seems to not be able to regulate his behaviour at all when tired.

The one thing that has reassured me is that he has always been pretty well behaved at School but today when I asked his teacher about how he had been getting on as we had had issues at home, she did say they had had some difficult behaviour at School and is going to call me tomorrow. This has included chewing things! He was eating a glue stick at school today 🙈 He is putting things in his mouth constantly at home as well. He is getting some big teeth through so maybe that but also maybe a bit anxious.

To top it all off, I haven't been well which has probably thrown him a bit but I have tried to carry on as best as normal.

The whole thing is getting me down though as he is just so awkward and, although he has a lovely group of friends, his current behaviour is pushing them away.

Is this a 'normal' stage or is there something else going on? I did have a Child Development Worker come out to assess him a couple of years ago as we had issues with extreme silliness then. I don't think he is an obvious autism fit but he definitely is wired differently to my other kids! Help! Xx

This is my five year old. No real suggestions but lots of sympathy. It drives me mad and makes me so sad to see him making things difficult for himself. Enough food/sleep/having been to the toilet seem to all help. And the last week of every half term is typically more awful. He also does strange and silly things. I’ve often wondered about ASD too but he never seems to fit the criteria. Definitely me staying calm helps, though I don’t always manage this as he’s also one of three and I am exhausted and harassed a lot of the time. Reminding him that I love him and that we’ve got a common goal sometimes helps. And so does distraction/connection/engagement. The best thing is if we can read together alone without the others around, but not always easy to do.
If you’ve anything at all that works, do share. The child is a mystery to me. I love him dearly but seem to spend more time than I’d like telling him off.

Yes that sounds very similar! He loves having me to himself. He hates it if I talk to other adults around him and hangs off me, acts up unless I give him my full focus. My husband and I take it in turns to put him to bed which includes storytime but he only ever wants me or both of us which isn't very practical when there are 2 others who need us. I am working on the being calm and trying to make sure he gets to bed early. We live very close to School so I think part of the issue is he could do with a walk or exercise after school. Not easy as dash off to pick his brothers up or after school activities but I really think we need to wear him out a bit more. He is like a puppy! Xxx

Oh I’ve just found this when having had to come back from the park with my angry 6 year old! Also year 2, also youngest of 3. I have no idea what to do; the other 2 were not like this 🤦‍♀️

putting things in his mouth that he shouldn’t could be a sign of a mineral deficiency. When I upped my sons iron this put a stop to this. Also other minerals like magnesium and b12 vitamin can affect personality and emotions so worth looking into.
In terms of the anger, it’s really good that he’s acting these feelings out in a (hopefully) safe way and I’d encourage him to do this more like hitting a pillow or stomping his feet, whilst you’re with him. So he knows that his big feelings aren’t too much and he can move through them.
also the silliness and energy at night - I’ve found rough play before bed really helps