Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Emotional Overexcitability or Bad Parenting

I would like some insights to see if DS2 is just being a brat (i.e. I am a bad parent) or does he have OE.

Ever since DS2 was an infant, he has a hard time adjusting to changes. Once he is attaching to a person/objection/place, he is reluctant to change. He cried for over a month when he started daycare, and now he is crying every morning because we took him out of daycare to stay home with me.

He is very sensitive to pain (among other things). He would hold his breath until his lips turn blue over minor falls.

He is also very reserved to new situations and people, which might be a personality thing.

The most troubling for me is that he would have temper tandems over little things, which I understand is quite common for his age. He would sometime cry over half an hour hysterically. We have tried to talk calmly to him, ignore him, distract him, timeouts, yell at him, etc. Nothing works. In fact, ignoring him usually makes it worse. He turns all blue every time we ignore him during a tandem.

So are we just bad parents, is this just a phase, or does he have OE? If he does have OE, what�s the best way to deal with the situation?

P.S. Forgot to mention he is also very sensitive to other people�s feelings. When he corrects others� mistakes, he always apologizes, which I have no ideas where he learnt it from.