5yr old Major Mood Swings

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My son (5) has always been a moody child, but lately it has gotten much worse.

His mood will chance in an instant, from being polite and helpful, to screaming and yelling, back to being calm in less than a few minutes.

And it seemingly comes from nowhere, today for example he was sitting on the couch playing calmly when all of a sudden he announced we HAD to buy him a bike in a very demanding tone, this was followed by about 5 minutes of very entitled behavior before he went to his room and came out calmly 15 seconds later asking nicely where his folded clothes were so he could get dressed as if it had never happened.

again today he began yelling and screaming that it is not his job to put away his folded clothes (he has been doing this for over a month and is part of him getting pocket money), he was yelling and screaming about how it's not fair and we should help him, then just like that is now calmly drinking a juice box.

He also goes through phases of being terrified of death, and then just like that he moves on until next time.

He also claims he cannot sleep at night as his brain talks to him and tells him to stay up because he isn't tired (he always falls sleep less than 30 minutes after going to bed)

He also "pretends" (we think) to be in pain holding his arm for example moaning and complaining about how much it hurts then forgets about it as soon as he is distracted.

He is most often polite and well mannered, but he can flip in a second and come back just as fast, he is very erratic and it seems to be getting worse and he has a routine which has not changed and he knew it well.


EDIT: I forgot to mention when upset he will usually constantly hit himself in the head, sometimes slapping sometimes with a fist, if he is asked to stop this will usually result in him becoming extremely upset.

Wow, I could have written all this about my son, he is 5 also (nearly six). I don't have anything constructive to add, just commiserating - the aggressive outbursts can be quite hard to take. My theory is they happen because he is quite anxious and gets easily stressed out. Also, his feelings of powerless and lack of control seem to be a contributing factor. Sadly he doesn't realise that when you are five it is necessary to let your parents control some of your life . We notice the outbursts occur a lot more frequently when he has been having a hard time at school. The defiance/not wanting to do jobs or basic tasks is also something we struggle with.

Sounds like my 5 year old daughter only she doesn't get over it and become calm 5 minutes later. No, she perseverates and goes into a frenzy of repitition and eventually after driving every one nuts for an hour, herself included, she will "realize" it's not happening and might even be ridiculous and then she'll start hitting herself and calling herself stupid. Awesome. Anyway, I feel ya. Her doc says it's her utter lack of impulse control from the ADHD that starts it, but in her case since she also has aspergers her brain will get stuck there once she is stressed out and upset... At least thats what they tell me, but who knows.

Swinging helped but the OT told me for different children the direction that is calming and organizing is different. Sometimes ordinary front to back works but sometimes sideways or rotational is better; often in a swing that cradles the child like a hammock or net.

5yr old Major Mood Swings

The approach we took was that our child was responsible to control himself. If he lost control, he could sit in a chair facing the wall until such time as he felt he regained his self control.

You do not want to make it an issue of punishment as you might for rebellion or an infraction. It helps if he sees it as a tool he can use to regain self-control.

I only found one time when my son did not regain his self-control and was still screaming after an hour. I was worried that such intensity might cause physical damage and I thought only something dramatic might break through the grip he was in. I filled the tub half full with cold water. I then picked my son up off the chair and walked into the bathroom and lowered him fully clothed in the tub. I imagine it was the dramatic tactile sensation, but he stopped screaming immediately and he was able to get out, dry off and change his clothes.

When he was a little older, we experimented with various herbs and supplements to see if there was anything that might help. There were things that made changes, but we left it up to him as we were interested in providing him access to tools that he felt might be useful to him in managing things. Most things have no effect. However, he tried some for a month or two and decided for himself that he would just try going without.

He is 18 now and does have an occasional upset, but we feel he has developed a significant amount of self-control than when he was little.