What happens when my son gets older? He's only 4 and has tantrums sometimes when he doesn't get his way. We don't always let him control everything and sometimes that's ok and sometimes not. Right now he screams and scripts etc when he has a meltdown but I worry that as he gets older he will realize his strength and become violent or whatever. Even nt kids can be rather threatening if they think they can get their way ( I have an 17 year old with ADD and he can get a little menacing but we never give in to tantrums no matter what the age!)
Any imput on this, it worries me for his future. Right now he usually responds with warnings, time out, ignoring the meltdown etc.
Camille,
When C was around 2 - 3 he was a tantrum machine! We were having at least one, sometimes more, explosive outburst each day that could last up to 45 minutes and involved hitting, kicking, screaming (ugh - my stress level is rising just thinking about those dark days). Around 3 he started talking and we saw a strong correlation over the next few years between increased verbal ability and decreased tantrums. Today at 6 1/2 he only has about 1 major meltdown per month, and that usually happens in a situation where he's frustrated, way overstimulated and way overtired. Also, as he got older and more verbal, we saw his recovery time improve as well. Now when he does have a meltdown, he can regulate himself and get back to normal within 10 - 15 minutes. When he was younger a meltdown could throw him off kilter for an hour or more.
All kids are different, but this is what we've been seeing as C get older. Hope this helps.
I wish i knew but I am bumping for more helpditto on the frenquency on meltdowns. Maddy's 7 and hes has at least 1 a wk but the real bad one hits only about once a mth....lol.....
For us, the 0,000 question will be how he does when puberty hormones kick in. Some kids -- not all -- become more unmanageable and aggressive at that age.
Good luck with everything.