The problem I have with my son is his temper, he will be 4 in January, but he still has temper tantrums equivalent to a 2 year old toddler.

He was very physically advanced as a baby and was walking at 9 months, but his speech was quite slow with him unable to manage to string together a simple sentence until he was almost 2 and a half.

He loves the feel of ribbons and has one attached to his dummy as a comforter. He sleeps well and we very rarely have a problem putting him to bed.

He is very loving and enjoys cuddles, and on a one to one basis he is very calm and well behaved.

His problems arise when he is at nursery or if there are any large gatherings or lots of children.

His excitement levels go through the roof and he will not listen, nor will he do as he is told and he will bounce around non stop.

He also lashes out at the other children and has on many occasions hurt them badly enough to make them cry and cause bruising. He hits, and kicks and pushes the other children for no reason.

If a teacher asks him to do something which he does not want to do he will throw himself to the floor and scream, hitting and kicking at the floor - this behaviour has hurt a few of the little children that were unfortunate enough to be near him at the time.

His teacher tells me that on most occasions there is no reasoning behind him lashing out and it is as if it is a general reaction to the other child being within striking distance, but sometimes it is down to a general squabble over a toy.

He loves going to school, but the other children are now very wary of him and I have been told that a few are so frightened that they refuse to sit near my son.

This upsets me greatly, as I know what a gentle and loving boy he can be, I am terrified that they will exclude him from school because they have to think about the safety of the other children.

It is as if my son has no control over himself. I have tried to reason with him, I've tried to explain why he shouldn't behave this way, I have tried positive praise when he is playing nicely, but I have seen it myself - one minute he is happily playing and the next he will just wallop the nearest person to him.

I am lost as to what to do, if anyone has any suggestions or tips to help I would be most grateful.

Thanks
Leeann

Leanne have you looked at his diet? My 2yo daughter was out of control with tantrums, head banging, aggression etc. I cut out a bread anti mould preservative called 282 (not sure what it might be called in your country) but it is contained in a lot of breads, refridgerated pasta, crumpets, pizza base etc. After a week we saw a huge improvement in her behaviour. I was actually quite sceptical but it really did work. It may not be a panacea for every child but in our case the difference was amazing. She is still a bit fiesty but no where near as bad.

A great Australian website about food additives and diet/behaviour is www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info Give the diet thing a go

Thanks Petal :D

I'll have a look on the net and see if I can find out what that would be called over here.

I've booked an appointment with our doctor for Monday so will ask her about it too.

Thanks again.
Leeann