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Do you have a jekyl and hyde child, my ds is like two kids and am struggling a bit.

9 replies

Quadrophenia · 23/11/2006 17:42

I have four chhildren twin girls aged 6, ds1 aged 5 (15 month gap) and a 3 year old ds. For a while now I have been struggling with the behaviour of my 5 year old. He is the most affectionate, loving, calm, well mannered boy say 75% of the time. His school reports are excellent, he was described as 'not a boistrous boy' and his teacher who he has been with since reception commented that she had not had to address any behaviour issues with him ever.
However as quick as lightening he can change into an aggressive, difficult to reason with, rude and quite nasty little boy. Now i know all kids can do this sort of thing from time to time, but its the extremity i struggle to cope with and when he is like this i just can't get thropugh to him at all. The incidents which lead to this OTT behaviour can be very minor, and is mostly a response to me saying no to something or one of his siblings annoying him. A very small altercation can then blow up into a huge situation and it is very difficult to pacify him, when he does calm down he is mostly very sorry, sucks his thumb and goes back to being affectionate. He can interchange between these two personalities within the blink of an eye and can be very unpredictable, many of my friends do not believe that he is capable of such behaviour. I am struggling with him as i feel unsupported in my role of disciplinarian, my dp is very soft with the children particularly with ds1 but i am finding i am frequently turning to threats to control him and even told him he'll end up in a naughty boys home and noone will like him that sort of thing just to control him. If anyone has any idea of how I can work towarsd resolving this it would be much appreciated, my ds is a lovely boy and i find it sad that he lets himself down in this way.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
WildatHeartneeNappiesGalore · 23/11/2006 17:54

wish i had something to offer... will be watching with interest.

Quadrophenia · 23/11/2006 18:41

anyone?

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Loganberry · 23/11/2006 20:16

Reading this just made me think of my ds1! Mine is also 5 and can be wonderful, helpful and sweet one second, the next, a violent aggressive whatsit who refuses to listen to anything - the smallest thing can set him off and end up in him breaking things all around the house. He's only really started getting like this in the last couple of months. Sometimes it can be because he's tired, but that doesn't explain when he does it first thing in the morning after a long sleep!

I've found recently that whatever you threaten, be sure you are going to carry it out no matter what, otherwise they just don't believe you and it gets worse because they can get away with it. Ds1 was so diabolical yesterday morning that my threat to him was "if you don't get ready to go to school right now, you'll go out exactly like that with the reins on when the rest of us are ready" and he did.....he walked halfway to school without shoes on (I took them with us and he put them on after five stops and counts to ten) and he didn't get his coat on at all - the reins were in the way! Apparently he was stunning at school all day, and he was wonderful last night and this morning. He started acting up tonight, throwing toys and picking on ds2, and I told him if he carried on, he was going to be sent to bed without dinner (where he ended up, and fell sound asleep!)

Apart from carrying simple threats out, I don't have any other ideas - time out in the corner never seems to work on ds1 - he just carries on the same way as soon as he's out. I've ended up putting him outside (it certainly cools off his temper!) or resorting to the reins, and I tell him over and over that if he's nice, he can come back in/come off the reins. Its not always a rapid change in behaviour because he's trying to assert himself and win the battle but when he does realise he's got no chance, he stops being so awful.

I hope it helps, I'm sorry I haven't got any other advice!

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Quadrophenia · 23/11/2006 20:39

Thanks loganberry, I know what you mean about threats, i guess alot of them are empty when I'm at the end of my tether and need to be realistic in terms of carrying them out. I find it so hard to be cross with him as he is such a loving litle boy I sometimes feel i let him get away with too much. Time out often doesn't work for ds as when he is sent to his room he just falls asleep and then it isn't really a punishment. He's the kind of kid who need alot of sleep but also has huge amounts of energy, anything I ever sy about him contradicts the 'other' side to his personality IYSWIM. Thankyou for responding and I'm sorry you have the same problems, its very draining.

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Bibiboo · 23/11/2006 20:40

Hormonal surges? Testosterone can fuel agressive behaviour, maybe it's a part of growing ... maybe I'm talking out of my @rse. Worth asking Dr about maybe?

Am sure it's a pretty normal thing, hope more mothers of boys come along to reassure you soon.

Quadrophenia · 23/11/2006 20:45

hadn't thought of that bibiboo
sometimes it just comes from nowhere and he seems so aggitated and I just wonder where the little boy went that was sitting on my lap two minutes ago giving me a cuddle.

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Loganberry · 23/11/2006 21:27

I've heard of the testosterone surge, can't remember where I read it - probably on mumsnet! It would certainly explain alot about them trying to be the dominate male sort of thing, asserting some power over their surroundings. Will have to look into that! Ds1 needs to sleep a lot too, 12-13 hours a night, and then makes up for it by running around everywhere like a mad thing. Maybe thats the testosterone thing too?

I know how you feel Quadrophenia, its so frustrating when you know they can be such little angels and can behave so well on occasion. When I say what ds1 has been up to (dismantling baby gates, huge dents in walls to name a couple) people always sound sceptical and say "what are you on about? He's so lovely here!" Do you get that too? You've got a believer over here, I can tell you!

Quadrophenia · 23/11/2006 21:34

His teachers were really shocked when i brought up his behaviour at home, he is so good at school. People really don't believe me, my mum understands as she sees it but i think my friends think i exagerate, if only! Am going to look into the testosterone thing, am curious, will let you know if i find anything x

OP posts:
Bibiboo · 24/11/2006 15:06

If it helps I think I heard it off a colleague who was reading a book on raising boys - think it's called "Raising Boys" actually.

Good luck, and if it's any consolation, my 2yo dd goes from being a sweet natured, obedient angel to a tantrum throwing, screaming little madam in about 3 seconds flat as soon as she decides she's tired.

The joys of motherhood

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