10 yo DS2 Crying for no Obvious Reason

[BaconAndAvocado]

DS2 suddenly started crying today. I asked him what was wrong and he said it's been happening for the last 3 weeks; getting upset/angry.

He was reluctant to talk about it too much but said that he gets angry with himself.

He's 11 in October. Is this the start of the hormone surge or is there more to it?

The only thing I could possibly attribute it to is that he'll be sitting his 11+ test in a few weeks......though when I questioned him direct about this he said that he wasn't worried about it.

It felt awful seeing him that upset and not being able to help him.

We're going through something similar with my 8yr daughter at the moment. We had weeks of crying, anger and moodiness which none of us understood and so probably made worse and then one day I noticed her breasts were growing. Things haven't calmed down but at least now we understand and don't get shouty myself when she's being an absolute horror.
I read somewhere that while you cannot ignore bad behaviour caused by hormones, the best way to deal with it is with distraction.
Hormones have a lot to answer for.

Wow, Spotty that seems so young to be going into puberty doesn't it.

Although DS2 has a girl in his class who started her periods at 9.

He had another meltdown today and told me that it is the pressure of the looming 11+ test. I reassured him that me and DH aren't worries about whether he passes or not. Luckily, he has an older brother who,didn't pass but is now doing extremely well at university .

I really do feel for him and am ladling on the TLC.