What to do with a 6 year old who's throwing a toddler tantrum?

[milliec]

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Hmmm, I don't think it's strictly normal. My 6-year-old sometimes gets a bit moody and difficult. Tiredness, changes, stress, all make it hard. I suspect this 6-year-old maybe has extra pressures, with his mum not being around?

I think what you did was probably sensible. I would have stressed, maybe, that you like him but can't cope with the behaviour, and he needs to calm down, iyswim - make clear it's the behaviour and not him that's the problem.

Actually, thinking about it, the fact he did this with you was curious - does he do this with his dad? They normally save their worst behaviour for the people they know best ...

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It's good if you can manage to have them around. I'm sure it's a good thing for them to have a woman in their lives, and it sounds like you're very interested in doing the best thing for them.

This doesn't sound very surprising, given - kids do go a bit haywire when their lives are stressful. I don't think it's worrisome behaviour per se, but if I was their parent, I would be possibly looking into professional support for both of them ...