I'm wondering if anyone has ever dealt with extreme anger in their child, and especially would like to know if it turned out to be "something" (e.g. depression) or if there were particular techniques that you found effective in controlling it.

(I start by saying my son has been seeing a psychologist for about two months, so there is professional help involved.)

DS6 seems to have increasingly angry and violent behavior. A lot of it stems from not getting his way, but some is just sort of random and I can't find a major cause. It's almost always directed at me, though he'll have occasional stomping off type episodes for his father. With me, though, he'll physically act out, hitting, kicking, or throwing things at me. He recently pulled a knife (though I don't think he'd use it). He always begs me not to tell people about this behavior (especially his father or the psychologist).

Today, he got into a fight with a friend (the friend set him off by revealing his hiding location) and I heard him snarling, "I'll kill you." a few times. The friend choked him, and I'm not sure if that happened before or after the killing statement.

We homeschool, but he tends to be well-behaved in most other settings. The incident with the friend is the first time I think anything major has happened outside of our home. Most people are surprised when I mention these types of troubles.

I'm not a perfect parent by any means, but I don't think I'm the world's worst parent, either. I do think that this behavior goes beyond ineffective parenting, though.

His psychologist has had some suggestions, especially things about breathing and stuff that he's supposed to do when he's feeling angry. But my son seems to think those types of things are lame, or beneath him.

I'm just wondering if there are people on these boards who have dealt with anything similar. It's something that I really want to get under control now, before the teenage years. The psychologist seems to be understanding about gifted issues.

Ultimately, I know he must be hurting inside, but I don't know how to fix it...

Last edited by lilmisssunshine; 12/17/14 05:57 PM.