MON,
Your post really hit home for me. DD4.5 has shown some bullying behaviors this year in pre-school. Writing an apology note and giving it to the children she was unkind to seemed to help all involved.
She did not display this behavior at preschool last year when she was part of the younger group. This bullying behavior makes me think she'd be better off with a grade skip next year. Being younger seems to keep some of the bullying behavior in check and she shows more of her sensitive side. Has anyone else found this to be the case?
I'm going to use some of your suggestions at the end of your post for our family. Thank you for sharing them.
I also read The Explosive Child that Artana recommended. I found the beginning part very helpful about how the mind works (or doesn't) leading up to and in the midst of a temper explosion. It also scared me straight about how this can ruin lives if it's not addressed properly. I don't remember that book addressing any gifted behaviors and I think the Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis book by Webb et. al is important to read with it. Like ADD, some gifted children have ODD, but some have behaviors that are due to giftedness that can be confused with ODD. It's important to understand the difference.
