I’d really appreciate some advice on handling a situation with my 8-year-old son. I often struggle with his behaviour and I’m not sure I’m responding the right way.
Yesterday, after school, he asked to watch TV. I said no, since it’s a weekday and they’re only allowed TV on weekends. He got upset, started arguing and shouting, and quickly got into a bad mood. When that happens, I find it really hard not to get annoyed. I try to empathise and talk things through, but it rarely helps in the moment, so I usually give him space and wait until he calms down before talking to him again.
So I did the same yesterday, and while I had my back turned, he broke his sister’s bracelet. He seemed to realise it was wrong and locked himself in his room. I asked him to come out, apologise, and help find the beads, but he ignored me and blocked the door. Later, he came down and helped find the beads but still refused to apologise, even after several reminders. He’s now completely ignoring me when I bring it up, and I’m not sure how to handle this new behaviour.
I’m not sure how to move forward from here, or how to handle this kind of behaviour in general.