Out of control

[nannymills]

My 5 yr old grandson is having problems with anger.  He has experienced some big changes in the past couple of years (divorce, moving away from friends and family, going to a new school in the middle of the year).  I live with my daughter & help with him since she travels with her job.  He can be the sweetest child one minute or have an outburst.... if he doesn't get his way....bites, kicks, and hits me and his mom. We have to physically hold him until he settles down. He has told me that he is going to kill me.  My daughter has taken him to talk to the pediatrician and is looking for a behavioral psychologist.  He is a bright child and is progressing with his schoolwork.  His behavior at school is not aggressive, just talkative and busy.  He has told me on a regular basis that "it is hard not to do things" and he is apologetic.  He said the children do not play with him....the boys won't let him be on their super heroes team.  His teacher & guidance counselor are aware of his concerns and problems and are completing the Rasmussen survey. One of the worse outbursts was directing after he ate candy that had red dye.  Is this a common trigger for some children's behavior to change?

[scaryclairy]

Candy is full of unpleasents hidden ingredients that are well known to send kids off the rails and yes the blue and red ones are the worst in most cases these are the ones with the high E numbers in , these are basically dyes to make the candy attractive to the kids and are known to effect childrens behaviours almost as soon as the item has been eaten , my advise is to stay away fom the blues and reds and to have a look at the ingredients before you give something out, i try to stick to plain chocolate as a treat.

[bb0218]

I LOVE THIS SITE.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

With some children food colorings or other additives may have an influence on behavior, but they are by no means the principle reason for difficult behavior. Your grandson is showing the impact of the instability is his family life. It is very good that you are seeking help for him. Changes in a child's environment during the early years is very difficult and frequently results in disorganized, aggressive behavior.