Please Help! My Three Old Son Is A Nightmare!

Please help! My three old son is a nightmare!

Ivy - posted on 11/09/2010 ( 1 mom has responded )

I swear since is birthday 8/28 he has been in a horrible mood. He yells, hits, is mean to other children and gets in to anything he can get his hands on.Yesterday he was standing on the counter in the bathroom spreading soap all of the mirror. We had done time out, taking things away and even a good spanking. I am so tired of this behavior it is recking havoc on the rest of my family. Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated.

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Laura - posted on 11/09/2010

781

First, consult with your doctor/pediatrician about his behavior. Behavior can be influenced or changed by food sensitivities and allergies. Your doctor might also be able to give you a recommendation to a behavioral specialist that deals with children. They will be able to test for things like ADD/ADHD and then help you create a treatment plan for dealing with these behaviors.

In the meantime, be consistent with how you deal with your son's behavior, even if it seems he's not "getting it". Let him know that certain actions/behaviors will result in certain consequences like time-outs, priveleges being taken way, etc. Follow through on your part is vital, even though it seems that is all your doing. The more consistent you are, the more likely your son will eventually understand the association of his action/behavior to the negative outcome.

Also try creating a "star/sticker chart" as a way to re-enforce positve behaviors and actions. Successful, positive behaviors earn a sticker with a reward (prize) at the end of the day. Try catching your son doing "good" and give him attention for these actions/behaviors. Some kids, if they don't think they are getting enough attention, start acting out in negative ways. This negative behavior get attention all right! Kids learn early on that negative attention from a parent is better than what they perceive as NO attention. So catch him at times when he is good and praise him. This strategy will not hurt anyone and can only help.

Finally, your best parenting tools at this time are going to be consistency and patience. These two tools often work hand-in-hand. Patience is the one parenting tool that seems to be undervalued in today's fast-paced world but it is also one of the most useful for parents in helping to cut down stress! Practice patience as well! Hope this helps and good luck!