He did and now that he's 8, he still has them.

My 7.5 year old is quick to tears when he doesn't get his way. I'd say he cries/stomps/whines/melts down at least a couple of times per week, usually only at home but occasionally in a group setting. It is increasingly frustrating. He has more and longer lasting meltdowns than his three year old brother. We are working on talking with him about more productive ways to handle his disappointments and trying hard to not reward the unwanted behavior. Good luck, I hate it.

My almost 7 year old does not have tantrums but he does get mad and stomp a round sometimes, almost always at home. He does cry in frustration a lot, seems like more now. Working on that so good to hear about how others have handled it. More at home bt sometimes when we're out...

Op: maybe it is blood sugar. Try giving him some cheese or a peanut butter sandwich if you feel it is coming on. Don't worry about dinner.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My newly turned 8yo still throws tantrums . . . I actually think this is still somewhat normal at this age. .

Actually, I don't think it's normal. My kids stopped tantrumming in their early toddler years, as did the kids of my friends, my siblings, my kids' classmates, etc. Frequent tantrumming at age 7 or 8 is unusual. Even if your child is tired or hungry, he needs to learn how to control himself. And, it's important to teach that now while he is young and while he isn't big enough to hurt you, himself or,others.

19:47 here. Those are good points. I guess there are different kinds of tantrums. I've never worried that DS would hurt anyone with his. It's more like crying and stomping away when he doesn't get his way. On occasion, he has wanted to throw a pillow or blanket. (I guess that doesn't sound very good.) This certainly doesn't happen every time he doesn't get his way. And it never happens at school, with friends, or in his activities. DS is typically very well behaved and (knock-on-wood) generally has great reports from school etc. I totally agree that he needs to learn self-control, but I have heard of other kids in this age group exhibiting similar behavior with their parents.

To the PPs with kids who have frequent, difficult tantrums, I wish you all the best as I imagine it can be very trying.

PP here. I actually wouldn't consider what you are describing as a tantrum. I thinkmit's normal to behave worse with your family than in public. I don't thinkmit's bad to want to throw a pillow or blanket so long as he isn't breaking things and he isn't disrupting your family. We all kind of do that. With crying, I think that's typical, but in early to mid elementary school, kids have to get some control of their emotions. My o,dest had a tough time with this, and what we did was to agree that we would prompt him when he was over reacting and needed to get himself together. Then he'd go off on his own, usually to the bathroom, until he was together. With my middle kid, we could say something like "it would be a good idea to count to ten" and he could take a few deep breaths and be ok. I actually found the crying thing difficult because there are times crying is really appropriate, so it's not a behavior you are seeking to eliminate.

Sorry for the typos. Learning to type on a new iPad.

Anonymous wrote:No. Last true tantrum I can recall was at age 5.

I agree with PP - I don't think its normal for kids to have full blown tantrums with any regularity at this age.

I don't think what OP is describing is a full blown tantrum. I have a 7 year old DS, too, who does sometimes still pout, cry a little, whine and throw things (like stuffed animals) in frustration when he doesn't get his way. It's gradually diminishing but I think a little stomping around is still normal at this age. (Sometimes, I even do that...)

OP, maybe it really isn't as bad as you think it is, especially if it doesn't happen often?

No. Last true tantrum I can recall was at age 5.

I agree with PP - I don't think its normal for kids to have full blown tantrums with any regularity at this age.

Anonymous wrote:
Actually, I don't think it's normal. My kids stopped tantrumming in their early toddler years, as did the kids of my friends, my siblings, my kids' classmates, etc.

You can speak for your kids, and possibly those of your very closest friends or siblings, if you're around the kids many hours a week. But beyond that, you really can't say. My dc is very charming much of the time, but tantrums persist--at home, in private.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My newly turned 8yo still throws tantrums . . . I actually think this is still somewhat normal at this age. .

Actually, I don't think it's normal. My kids stopped tantrumming in their early toddler years, as did the kids of my friends, my siblings, my kids' classmates, etc. Frequent tantrumming at age 7 or 8 is unusual. Even if your child is tired or hungry, he needs to learn how to control himself. And, it's important to teach that now while he is young and while he isn't big enough to hurt you, himself or,others.

19:47 here. Those are good points. I guess there are different kinds of tantrums. I've never worried that DS would hurt anyone with his. It's more like crying and stomping away when he doesn't get his way. On occasion, he has wanted to throw a pillow or blanket. (I guess that doesn't sound very good.) This certainly doesn't happen every time he doesn't get his way. And it never happens at school, with friends, or in his activities. DS is typically very well behaved and (knock-on-wood) generally has great reports from school etc. I totally agree that he needs to learn self-control, but I have heard of other kids in this age group exhibiting similar behavior with their parents.

To the PPs with kids who have frequent, difficult tantrums, I wish you all the best as I imagine it can be very trying.

No tantrums from my 7 yr old unless he is beyond overtired. Maybe has had two in the last year and they were pretty short. I don't think his friends still throw tantrums anymore - at least parents don't mention them.

Anonymous wrote:My newly turned 8yo still throws tantrums . . . I actually think this is still somewhat normal at this age. .

Actually, I don't think it's normal. My kids stopped tantrumming in their early toddler years, as did the kids of my friends, my siblings, my kids' classmates, etc. Frequent tantrumming at age 7 or 8 is unusual. Even if your child is tired or hungry, he needs to learn how to control himself. And, it's important to teach that now while he is young and while he isn't big enough to hurt you, himself or,others.

We get several a day, but it's ADHD-related. It's very tiring.

My newly turned 8yo still throws tantrums, but he's getting better. He tends to exhibit this behavior when he doesn't get his way or is very tired. We try not to give into this behavior. Otherwise he'll feel that he's rewarded for tantrums. He pretty much never has these in public. It's an at home type of thing. The tantrums are rather short-lived and becoming less frequent. I actually think this is still somewhat normal at this age. He's still testing limits etc. My only advice would be try not to get in reactive mode. Eventually DC will realize that this behavior doesn't have any rewards. If you're concerned about deeper reasons behind the tantrums, try to find out from DC if everything's okay at school etc.

I have a 10 year old that has thrown a rage fueled tantrum approximately 3, 4 times per week since he was about 4 years old. We're pretty sure there is something emotionally wrong since all medical tests say he is normal. Our other son has Aspergers. Our 2 daughters are as normal as can be living around all the insanity. Most days I want to quietly walk out of the house and never look back. Most days.

If not, what are we doing wrong? We get a tantrum 1, 2 or 3 times per month. Sure, sometimes he's hungry or over tired, but... When does this end?