Small volcano in the house

[Youwontdissolveintherain]

Ds has just turned 6 and is struggling hugely to contain himself when slightly frustrating things happen (e.g. he loses a game, he realizes he's spelled something wrong, his brother takes the yogurt he wanted, he's trying to tell a joke but forgets the punchline). Some days are better than others, but he seems not to be able to cope with small things.

Today he must have had at least 8 episodes - turning bright red, bursting into tears, running from the room, screaming about how awful whatever's happened is... huge drama. Part of me thinks it is attention seeking but he is also genuinely distressed - you can see it in his face and real sobs racking him. It is totally exhausting for both of us. I can see him really trying sometimes to contain himself - we have talked about being a good loser (Olympics perfect for that!) and he knows what he should do but when the moment comes he just lets go in a big way. Today was a particularly bad day, maybe he's tired, but he is SO sensitive and I really want to help him deal with life better! Any advice?

Sorry you're having such a tough time, it sounds very upsetting. Do you think he's maybe coming down with a cold or something, is it worse than usual? I have found in the past that my DD (6.5yrs) is much, much more tantrummy for a week or so before coming down with some virus or other. However, when DD goes ballistic, it's far more obviously attention-seeking than your DS - she very rarely cries 'real tears' for example.

Sorry, I don't have much in the way of advice for you - just the usual try to stay calm, reassure him, etc. Hope he manages to get a hold of his emotions soon. (I wish I could help more!)

Thanks for the reply and the sympathy, I appreciate it. He did have a sick bug yesterday, no temperature - he was just sick once in the morning, then went to sleep for an hour, and was fine again by the afternoon after he'd eaten a bit of lunch. But I suppose he could still be under the weather today - he actually seemed pretty manic a lot of the time though, almost bubbling over with nervous energy. He's generally a happy and funny boy, though prone to being a bit negative at times, just awfully sensitive when things go mildly wrong.