My son is seven and gets so angry that he can barely breathe. He goes into fits of anger and hitting but only at others. Not at me or his dad. For the most part he is a sweet boy then he gets angry over the smallest thing in school and acts out. In the past he has hit his teacher and I am afraid that he will hurt someone or himself. Please help me. I don't want my son to end up making very bad decesions because he is upset. I have taken him to see our family doctor and he stated that there was nothing wrong. Please help me find out what I should do.

J_9

Have you discussed this with your son? What does he say? What are his reasons?

He may need some counseling to deal with his anger issues.

ISneezeFunny

talk to the child. why is he angry? is he seeking attention? also, try to seek a counselor or a therapist. they may prescribe medication for his anger if it is a hormonal imbalance.

s_cianci

See another doctor and get a second opinion.

Choux

You don't want to "raise an angry child". You want to improve his emotional condition and the emotional situation in your home. Parents create a child's reality, and parents must make an active effort to change their negative behavior through self-examination as well as managing the child's emotional problems.

Be positive! Think big improvement for your child!! He is only seven.....he can change in a relatively short period of time if others in the family work together with a therapist's guidance as a family unit.

Fr_Chuck

medically there is nothing wrong according to your family doctor, I would get a complete phsycical and blood tests for any chemcial unbalance if possible.

also if it is not medical then it would be a mental issue, that needs to be addressed or a disipline problem. What happens to the child when he hits others ?

N0help4u

yeah he could have a chemical imbalance. From everything I have been reading kids that act up a lot often have vitamin deficiencies and lack essential fatty acids.

simoneaugie

I agree with the advise above. A good therapist will help him learn to direct his anger towards objects. Pillow pounding, teddy bear ripping etc. You can help him vent his feelings in safe ways. He would like to learn, especially from you. How do you express anger? Everyone has feelings of anger. It is what we choose to do with them that makes a difference.

oneguyinohio

Please tell more about your discipline at home. Is the child able to have his own way more at home? What keeps him from getting angry at home? Is it a situation where he is in more control than he is when he is other places?

School can be a lot more chaotic than home. That does not make his behaviour right at all, but might be a place to start when talking with him and letting him know that his actions are not acceptable to you. Perhaps by providing him with some other alternatives for his actions, you can solve the problem. Be sure to praise and follow through with the ideas for his acceptable expression of his feelings that you work out. It will be important to make sure that his teacher is willing to go along with it, and knows the plan so that there is consistency for him.

mjl

My brother was very similar to your son. Maybe even worse. There was even a time when he was about the same age where he even chased another brother with a knife because he wanted the TV remote! From as long as I can remember he was like that. Big fits of anger that can be brought on by the smallest things. The whole family would have to walk on egg shells around him.

He is now 23 years old. About a year ago he took such a fit of anger that he ended up in the hospital in the mental health ward. He went through about 3 days of examinations from doctors and phychologists. By the end of all that they diagnosted him with something (I can't remember the name) but it basically ment that he was withholding so much feelings from things that have happened in childhood that when something happens that angers him all of those feeling come back at once. There for it produces such a huge fit of anger. He got a lot of help through counselling and is now has a totally different prespective on his feelings. He is able to talk about the past openly, and talk about emotions without holding everything in and just showing anger in return. He is now a very calm person.

Is it possible that your son is also holding in feelings so intense that causes such anger? I think you should bring our son to a cousellor to talk. There is obviously a reason (wether it is similar to my brother or not) why he is acting like this, and I think he needs some help.