Hello Moms- I have a 10 year old who gets emotional about things. He says he wants to be tough and not cry about things. He is asking for my help in not crying about things. He is an honor roll student with emotion issues. He has a harder time making friends I think due to not be able to handle his emotions as well as others his age. We are not interested in medicating him at all- but are giving some thought to diet changes. Looking for suggestions from others. Thanks so much for any suggestions!
Thank you all so much for your feedback. Keep it all coming. All suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Have a great day!!!
It may be an anxiety problem that is making him over-emotional. Maybe you could sit down with him and talk about "what's the worst that can happen" in these situations that stress him. If he can follow the logic from one point to the next until he reaches the end, he'll realize that he can handle the situation. It will teach him that he can control his emotions by controlling the anxiety.
My son is a very bright, unusually sensitive 7 year old. I find that he does much better when initially "set up" with a friend. After the first month or so of school, I have asked his teacher which friends she sees as a good "match" for him - I then make a phone call to the parent asking for a playdate - giving them 1 on 1 time to get to know each other without pressure from others around them. In Kdg, 1 and now 2nd grade, this process has lead to 1 or 2 good friends in his class each year.
It sounds like your son is a Good Kid who may be intimidated by lack of self esteem - giving him the tools to succeed will be key in buliding friendships and his self esteem.
How about some classes in Karate or Tai Chi?
About "handling" emotions . . . he might actually be healthier
than the kids who may have learned how to stuff their feelings.
Feeling/acknowledging one's emotions is a valuable asset, imo.
Is it possible that he's already getting a bit of a hormone issue? Girls are hitting puberty earlier now, why can't boys?
I really don't think there's anything wrong w/ him if he is emotional--it just means he cares about things. Sometimes it takes a tougher person to be willing to show emotion than it does to hide it. Personally, I wouldn't change anything about him unless he goes into a full-blown bawlfest. I'll be praying for you both!
its ok to cry... you need to make sure he knows that. if he still doesnt feel great about that then talk to his doctor
All you can do is love him and make him feel special my son is very sensitive and will cry about things let him know that its ok to cry. My son is almost 12. Ask him why he feels like he needs to be so tough.He needs something like sports or something to channel his energy be positive my son has had the same issues maybe he feels like he has to be an honor roll student and feels alot of pressure. Good luck kids have alot to deal with nowadays
I wanted to mention that red food coloring used to make my son very emotional.
Also, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is great for this type of thing. It is a tapping technique on acupuncture points that is sooo easy to teach yourself. If you go to http://www.eftuniverse.com/ , click on Learn EFT, and then click on Go to the Free EFT Get Started Package you can provide you email to get the very short and very easy to understand EFT guide.
Anyway, if you practice it on kids it can calm them down. Here is the index of children's cases http://www.eftuniverse.com/index.php?option=com_content&a... . Here is a nighttime procedure that is very helpful with kids http://www.eftuniverse.com/index.php?option=com_content&a... . A good setup phrase for him might be "Even though I cry sometimes, I am a great kid" then the short phrases for tapping might be cry too much, cry sometimes, cry at school, etc., etc. Good luck.
I just got this and haven't read your responses yet, but I hope to get some advice too! My 8.5 yr. old can be a little too emotional sometimes too, and often says that he misses his Grandfather that passed away 5 days before Christmas a few years ago. I told him to recognize the feeling and try to direct himself to another emotion by thinking of something crazy and off the wall (sort of the "picture everyone in their underwear" kind of thing.) He has told me that it has worked for him on occasion. A long time ago I was told to look at a bright light when I was about to cry and it would stop the tears. I have done this on occasion and it worked, but not sure if the bright light had anything to do with it or not! Good Luck, hopefully he'll grow out of it, but a male with emotions that aren't kept bottled up may be a good thing!
