Posted by on Mar 4, 2013 in Personal | 0 comments

Kingston’s going through a temper-tantrum phase recently. More than just your typical lie-on-the-floor-stomping-your-feet tantrum…more like blind rage grab anything that he can find to toss kind of tantrum. His face turns Hulkish (with the exception of the green color), he growls & screams, and his hands start wailing. It actually a bit scary.

One time he had this rage session at the playground after-school and the teacher went as far as to suggest we take him to a psychologist. I’m not opposed to seeking outside advice and help…but I’m uncertain if that isn’t a bit premature still yet? I spoke to a bunch of parents recently about this incident and they’ve all told me it sounds natural for him at this point.

It’s certainly something we’re keen on resolving as soon as possible before he gets himself or others hurt. Last thing I want is for him to be one of THOSE kids when he’s 7 or 8 years old and becoming a danger to his own family.

My wife and I have discussed tactics to try resolve this problem….everything from changing his environment to changing our schedules so that we reduce situations that put him into this red zone. We’ve been trying every modern tactic from reasoning with him to doing timeouts. I’ve even tried some butt smacking (my parent’s age-old solution to teaching) but found that technique to make the situation worse rather than help. It hasn’t been easy.

I guess that’s just our current problem. It seems like every years for a child has been a different challenge for us:

  • Year 1 ::  learning to deal with no sleep 
  • Year 2 :: dealing with trusting child care & returning to work; and for us…dealing with an injury
  • Year 3 :: dealing with an ever increasingly mobile toddler
  • Year 4 :: tantrum city

My best friend once laughed at me when I told him how hard it was dealing with a 1 year old. He told me it doesn’t get easier. I think he was in a position of wisdom having boys much older than mine. I fear what I have to look forward to in year 5. (image via FinerMinds)