Who should I contact regarding 7year old son's anger.

[Amy814]

My 7 year old son is often loving, thoughtful, happy child but has occassions when he becomes very angry and can become destructive towards things but not usually aggressive with us.  He feels very upset after these bouts of rage happen and recognizes it as something he doesn't want to repeat but sometimes is unsure of why he's angry or how to manage it.  I am at a loss for how to help him as this behavior has escalated and I feel like I don't have control over him when he is having these incidents.  Are there possible medical causes I should be investigating with his doctor and who should I seek help from.  My son doesn't always seem to have an event that triggers these episodes and its concerning that we don't see it coming.

[margypops]

Thank you for your response, it does sound as if your son has had a lot going on, he obviosly misses his Gran ,who I would hazard a guess was sympathetic to him,he will get used to that and no doubt will see her aswell.with visits,as you have had Family counselling you are aware of some of the problems with yelling and a lack of patience on your Husbands part. perhaps you could talk to him and have him work on it ,as it could be what is causing your son to act out.Extreme Yelling where a child does not feel in control seems to me to be verbal abuse , what does he yell about? Fix this and you son will do better.

[Amy814]

My son has always been excitable and tends to express fears, anxieties and sadness through anger.  When he was younger I thought it was tantrums and age appropriate but around the time he was 5 I became concerned at the intensity of his anger outbursts and brought him to a psychologist.  She ended up working on different parenting techniques with my husband and I as opposed to meeting individually with him and this was short term as she didn't feel he was in need of any further treatment.  My son since then has been quick to anger but not destructive and with guidance able to control is anger.  Just in the past couple months he has been more angry more frequently and not responsive to my husband and I when we try to help him use strategies for controlling his anger.  We have had a pretty big change in our household in the past month.  My mother who has lived with us since the children were born just moved and is living out of state.  The kids have had some difficulty with this change but particularly my son.  Although he has written her and speaks to her often on the phone he is still upset about the change.  As far as school is, he enjoys going and has many friends there.  My husband does play sports with him and games as well as attends his school activities.  I do feel though that my husband has a quick temper and is not patient.  At the same time though, my husband is not verbally or physically aggressive but does yell when frustrated.  My son is not on any medications and appears medically very healthy.

[margypops]

When did this all start? has any thing happened may have triggered the behavior, what does he get angry about we need more information,does he take any meds for anything, how is school does his Dad paly sports and Games and interact with him.Let us have more info