“Do you want a smack?”
Tantrums. They come and go as they please here at my house.
Some are predictable. You know he will scream and growl or throw something as a response to what you’re about to tell him or about to grab off him.
Some are new. You thought you’d try something different today – a new game, DVD or pair of shoes. Dead wrong!
This little shop that I bought him some months ago was set up and placed in that exact spot as you see in that photo. It’s still there today, which was when I took the photo. There was a short break of a week when I hid the damn thing into the spare room with the door closed. One day my son went in and saw it, and with frowns on his forehead he growled for me to drag it back out to the exact same spot as he last had it. End of break. He barely touches the shop nowadays, but if I move it when cleaning the house, he throws a tantrum: ‘Don’t touch it, Mummy, you want a smack?’
What can I say? Let him be himself, for now, until we’ve worked with him on those quirky ways. We’re working with his new Occupational Therapist (she is awesome!) to help control or stop all the nasty moments where he loses his temper just because he doesn’t like change or just because he couldn’t get something right (such as making mistakes when drawing, he wants his picture to be perfect!).
What I do now? He’s not hurting anyone with his ways. If he wants it there, I let him keep his shop there. I hate mess but he’s my child and if that’s how he needs it to be then so be it. It’s not ‘right’ and it’s not ‘ok’ but until I know how to address it then he’ll get what he wants to keep himself calm and me sane.
Does your child throw tantrums like this? Do you ever have to ‘go along’ just because?
