Worried About Emotional Control in My 5 Year Old

He is acting his age, testing his boundaries. Why can't kids not be allowed to act their age these days without having to be labeled and put on meds? It is ridiculous how many parents want the easy way out by stamping their kids with some sort of label to make it 'all better'. Bipolar is not properly diagnosed until late teens, early twenties. "It typically emerges in adolescence or early adulthood, but may begin in childhood. Bipolar disorder most often manifests itself between the ages of 15 – 24, with 90% of cases diagnosed by the age of 30. (http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/51/main.html)" Even with meds nothing goes away you need proper therapy along with it to work. Also http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&t... is a good one to look at.

I have a 5 1/2 year old, and I know what your experiencing. I read in an article (I don't remember what mag), that as pre-schoolers grow, they have trouble understanding and communicating their emotions. I have to sometimes give him a time out, not to punish him, but to set him aside and give him time to settle down, and then we talk. I ask him if he's sad? angry? ect. I then explain what is appropriate when we feel this way. Hopefully, he will try to practice the appropriate behavior and stop bullying the other children. It should get better. God bless <>< J.

Hi W.,

It does seem as though you have a pretty normal 5 year old. Our daughter can get like that sometimes too. There can be several reasons. If there are other kids in thehousehold, your or kids you babysit for, then he may just be trying to get your attention and is still sorting out the good attention from the bad attention. Also look at what he's eating, our daughter is worse and acts out the most when she's had something that contains Red Dye 40. This seems to be a problem for a lot of kids. Try not to be too quick to label it a "disorder." Try to talk out why he said a certain thing, and recognize the events that led up to it. Good Luck!

W., try some behavior modification techniques, evaluate his schedule and his eating habits as well as what he is eating. There are documented cases of kids displaying ADHD type behavior and it is actually a side effect of the foods they eat. The other kids in the house may be frustrating also. Try non-medicinal things before going to meds and extreme diagnosis. Unless a child really has the disorder they become labeled with the treatments they are give can and WILL case permanent damage to him physically and psychologically. If a change in routine or discipline or diet makes the improvement, wouldn't you rather have that?

While some kids really do have ailments that need to be treated with medicine, most do not.

My son had the same type of problems you are describing. I took him to get evaluated, and come to find out he has ADHD. He is now on the Daytrana patch, and his outburst like that have gone away. He is continuing to be monitored by doctors, his behavior has improved in school and at home. Let me know if there is anything I can help with.

W.,

I don't have an answer, but you are not alone! I have a 6 year old that is doing the same thing, I don't know if it's age or what but one minute we will be laughing having a good time and the next minute he gives me the most hateful attitude over something silly like me saying time to pick up toys or time to go to bed. I am going to have him talk to his school counselor just because I don't know what else to do for him, I like you have no idea. But at school he is a great kid the teachers rave about him. Let me know if you get any good suggestions. Sometimes it helps to know you are not alone in this!

My 5-year-old son was the same way. We talked to our pediatrician and had him tested. Basically, he was given the diagnosis of mild autism, but we are all leaning more toward PDD (Pervasive Developmental Delay). Now that he has been in school and receiving treatment, he has changed tremendously. If he were truly autistic he would likely still exhibit some of the behaviors that concerned us in the beginning. No one wants to have their kids labeled but there are a lot of kids that need a little help. Don't just chalk it up to acting his age. If you are concerned you need to talk to someone about it. We started with our pediatrician.

Dear Wendy ,I have a 8 year old that I just took of medicine ,the doctor was glad to remove it ,he said to use strong behavior motivgation.And then if that doent work then try medicine .ok like you need to become very hard on him like for ever bad thing he does take away something from him be it tv ,games ,outside ,or friends .or even the favorite snacks .And if you get tough and it still dont improve you may need to seek help him have him checked .wishing you the best

W. relax he is a normal 5 year old. I am a paramedic that works with a family practice group doing level 1's. I deal with everything from newborns through geriatrics - please don't be too quick to label him. I am not saying to excuse his behaviour but this is a great opportunity to teach him about open communication. When he replies like that, he is most likely trying to just argue with you (adults do the same thing!) I see a lot of ADD, ADHD and so on but honestly feel most of these kids are just KIDS! When he responds to things in that matter, say things like, Oh, I love Disney World! What don't you like about it. This way he knows his opinion is important to you too and most likely you can help him remember all the reasons he does love it! Best of luck to you and remember the best sound in the world is a child's laughter!

Hi. I have an 8 yr old boy who has been diagnosed as bipolar. He used to show the same emotional difficulties and i was at a loss untill I had him checked by a therapist and a children's mental doctor. I am not trying to scare you by any means but if it is bipolar you need to have it diagnosed as soon as possible so you can learn how to deal with him in those situations.
Also, if he is bipolar be sure to keep him seeing a therpist regularly. Medication is not the immediate response to bipolar, you can try to care for the bipolar with therapy only first. Then if that has no effect alone you can discuss with the doctor the next best course of action.
My son is on medication for it now. But at first we tried everything else that might work first. By no means is it an easy thing to take care of, but you should try everything you can before you go to medicine. Email me any time if you have any questions... ____@____.com

I used to babysit and it was the hardest thing I ever did. I would have gladly gone back to my teaching job after that had I not found a work from home opportunity. My daughter really had a VERY difficult time with sharing her home and her mom with other children day in day out. She got really mean and I would wonder if your child is bitter that these other children are in his home playing with his things and sharing his mommy. I would bet on it after seeing how much of a demon my sweet daughter could turn into!

W.

i would get him check for bipolar..my friends son is the same way and is medication for bipolar...if you dont get him on something now before he gets in to school, it will be harder to control, and you can have him on medication, and have his system get used ot it where you can see ow he reacts to it before starting school

L.