Question:
My 4 year old son will NOT listen....Help?
Angela
2009-07-22 18:48:42 UTC
My husband and I are almost at our wits end. I love my son beyond words and it breaks my heart that I become so upset and frustrated on a daily basis.

My 4 year old son seems very normal at first glance. Very talkative, very loving, SMART as a tack, but he WILL NOT listen and tends to throw major tantrums over little to nothing. His pediatrician said he is perfectly normal (no tests have been run)and "just a boy. And for us to reprimand him and be consistent." We started reprimanding with the time outs, that seemed to have no effect, we tried tossing his toys away every time he disobeyed-nothing- and we even resorted to spanking. NOTHING has worked. We have been consistent, strict, and stern We've tried not doing anything and ignoring him when he throws fits. Of course we always talk to him about what he does and why it is wrong and why he is being punished... He just doesn't even seem to care... I don't know what to do.. I am afraid if we do not get control of him soon we never will. I just wanted to know if anyone has any advice, any ideas as to what could be the trouble, or if anyone is sharing in my trouble?

Please don't be mean or rude. I'm having a hard enough time without rudeness. I usually get the comments that "It's my fault and that he needs his a$$* busted" Believe me he's gotten spankings before with no avail.

Thanks in advance
21 answers:
anonymous
2009-07-22 19:41:10 UTC
Unfortunately it is a developmental stage he is going through....please didn't jump to A.D.H.D or A.D.D as most people do. It is so easy to jump to this sort of thing when he is just being a normal active inquisitive kid! My son went through the same thing, he wouldn't listen to me or my partner and didn't seem to care when he got punished even started to talk back and said things like "No you go to your room" and he once came up and hit me!!!! they are trying to figure out their own authority and seeing how far they can push you. Does your boy go to preschool or day care because I found that when my son started going to preschool he settled right down, he just wasn't getting stimulated enough at home and needed to be in a learning environment with structure and be with other kids his age!



P.S Briley, What you are talking about is abuse, and I think you need help!!
Stephanie
2009-07-22 20:27:16 UTC
I don't have an answer, but I do have a little girl who will be 4 in Oct and I'm going through the very same thing. I don't want to take her for testing, because these days it seem ADHD is all to common. I like you have tried every sort of punishment, all failing. She now laughs when I spank her. I feel that I am at the end of my rope. I do think that part of her problem is she spends every other weekend with her dad. Of course since he doesn't see her all the time, she gets away with almost everything. I feel that if he would make her follow the same rules she has at home would help. Is your son an only child? My daughter is a miracle and I was told she would be the only 1, so she is spoiled which is my fault, but when I had my 2nd daughter things seemed to get worse. She no longer gets all the attention and has to share. If anyone comes up with something that might help please share with me. As a mother going through the same trouble you are, I know I would love to have someone talk to. So please if you need to talk or maybe share ideas let me know.



Briley you don't have children do you? No mother would ever say such things about their children. Or should I say no mother who loves her children should ever say such thing. If you do have childrend and really feel that way maybe someone else should raise you kids.
mcclarty
2016-09-29 07:18:44 UTC
4 Year Old Not Listening
MAK
2009-07-22 20:13:30 UTC
First, stop spanking. Spanking will only reinforce that you respond to things you dont' like by violence/physical aggression. Since that's one of his issues, it would be appropriate to stop that immediately.

Second, you can talk to your local children's hospital to set up a behavioral consultation. A team of professionals will analyze several causes (such as the food allergies or psychological disorders) and give you suggestions and direction for treatment. You may also want to take a parenting course (such as love and logic) or have a child behavior expert observe you with your son. There may be some details that you can change that will make a world of difference.

Good luck!
anonymous
2015-08-07 08:44:38 UTC
This Site Might Help You.



RE:

My 4 year old son will NOT listen....Help?

My husband and I are almost at our wits end. I love my son beyond words and it breaks my heart that I become so upset and frustrated on a daily basis.



My 4 year old son seems very normal at first glance. Very talkative, very loving, SMART as a tack, but he WILL NOT listen and tends to throw...
Once again, I amaze you
2009-07-22 19:15:13 UTC
I would take him to a Child neurologist and/or a therapist to see in they can give you an inside view on what's going on with him. I know 4 year olds are stubborn, but he should be compliant at least 50% of the time.



Your son sound a lot like my 2 year old (a Taurus, no less) and acts out all the time. We still are having luck with time outs but not as much as before.



Good luck
anonymous
2009-07-23 03:41:19 UTC
Well,

I think you should try this teqnique. My friend uses this teqnique on her 3 year old daughter.



*If she disobey/don't listen, Mia explains to Tana that what she did was very wrong. Then, she sends her into timeout. Also, Mia takes a sticker off 'Tana's Behaviour Board'. The behavior board:is a board which indicates Tana's behaviour. Each day, Mia puts 5 stickers on the board. If Tana does something wrong, then Mia takes 1 sticker off 'The Behaviour Board'! If at the end of the day, Tana has had all the stickers taken down she has try to explain to Mommy that what she did was wrong and why. This works REALLY WELL! If Tana gets no stickers off, then she gets a treat!
ticklemeblue
2009-07-22 18:55:48 UTC
Maybe you should have him tested for food/chemical allergies. You would be amazed the negative effect on children's behaviors these can cause. Maybe you could start with omitting just a couple things from his diet per week to see if you get any positive results. Eggs, dairy products, corn, wheat etc... Also....you might want to try going organic for a week. It might be worth a try...seriously. I also know that some kids with too much copper can have devastating behavior issues. Best wishes.
Catina
2015-07-05 12:00:40 UTC
I thin redirecting is good in some cases. But sometimes the child needs a good butt popping. There is a point that it's called child abuse but if you believe that spanking will lead to a child to be an abuser you are seriously mistaken and delusional. All 3 of were raised in a house where we were spanked and none of us have landed ourselves in jail or the system. The more we think we need there to be no spanking or discipline with our children that will be the day they will walk all over us
?
2009-07-22 18:59:43 UTC
Just keep trying and stick with your punishments. All children are different. Some are very well behaved and some behave badly. I don't see a need of running "tests" on him. Also boys are known to be more resistant then girls. Parenting is tough no doubt. As hard as it may be always try to keep your cool. Sometimes children get arise out of seeing that your getting upset. Good Luck!!
Nicola
2009-07-22 19:17:53 UTC
I'd say keep doing what you are doing with time-outs, but only stick to one form of punishment and not to change every so often.

If it means he's in time out over and over so be it. He should get the idea eventually and hate it.

Like some others have said, it won't hurt to get him checked properly at the doctor, but see another doctor if the one you have isn't prepared to look into it further.
anonymous
2009-07-22 18:58:24 UTC
Keep up the reprimanding. Hopefully, it is just a phase and he will grow out of it..if you don't lose your mind first! I think that doctors today are way too quick to diagnose a child with ADD or something of the sort and stick them on some kind of medicine. Some kids are just bad no matter what the parents do.
howdy
2009-07-22 18:58:04 UTC
My son is almost 2, and I know that hitting them doesn't always help. So, I give him brief 1-3 min. time outs in his room, it helps. I also refuse him toys and treats if he misbehaves. I've noticed a big change in his attitude.
anonymous
2009-07-23 00:54:05 UTC
I would check his diet... Common allergies include: Wheat, dairy, corn, pesticides artificial colors... start with those then move onto others.



My sister was absolutely unreasonable, when she had anything with artificial colours, orange/red especially.



Food has a huge effect on behavior, especially in yound children, try eliminating these things for a week and see if there is any effect, a naturopathic doctor could refer you to one who specializes in allergies to get him tested.
...
2009-07-22 19:01:34 UTC
hes testing his boundary, if i were you id start feeding him lies. "Honey if you keep throwing these tantrums your tong will turn black and you'll never be able to speak or eat again" or turn to a more retro approach and scare him with tales of malevolent creatures. Tell him that if he misbehaves the evil witch Baba Yaga will come and take him away and eat him. Evil witches dark faeries the boogie man look into these and use them as you see fit. This can be affective and he will grow out of these lies eventually just like he will Santa clause or the Easter bunny.
LADONNA
2009-07-22 21:47:34 UTC
First off Briley that is child abuse, I must agree with Molly. And to answer your question: Everyone here is kinda right in their own way but its hard to post a question like this and get a straight answer from anyone because no one knows what you are dealing with. Even if they have a child who suffers from ADHD or other issues, all children are different.



I have 5 children. 2 girls age 3 and 3 boys who are 10,8 and 7. My 8 and 7 year olds are the my problems. Of course mine are so much worse because I am having to deal with the stress of caring for 3 other children at the same time. Not to mention the fact that my husband works night shift and sleeps all day, while I too run a business as well as take care of daily life, bills, errands the house and all. I know how stressful that this can be.



My worst one though is the 7 year old. He was very much like what you have described about your 4 year old. His problems were much worse once he started into school. Up until this point we had done everything that we could. Just like you are doing but it seemed to be pointless and I was so stressed at one point that I would just sit and cry with this stuff would happen. I felt like I didnt know if I was going to give up on myself. Once he got into school the problems multiplied. The tantrums, the disobedience, and my extremely smart child started to develop a learning disability. He is very intelligent but his mental state was interfereing with his ability to pay attention and of course that resulted in him falling behind. His teacher pulled me to the side and recommended that I take him and have him evaluated for ADD or ADHD. I did because I didnt know what else to do. In this day and time though ADD and ADHD are so commonly diagnosed that the childs real problems are never found. My son though was in danger of failing Kindergarden, so the dr put him on meds, my choice as to what drug so I did alot of research. It seemed to help him at first and he made it through Kindergarden but 1st grade was terrible and the dr put him on even more medication which then resulted in an opposite effect where that he had to have something else to help him to sleep at night. The problems persisted and he started to become violent to himself and others and had even been admitted to a hospital for hurting someone and threatening to hurt himself. Now we are talking about a 60 pound, 4 foot tall 7 year old. I had allergy testing done - still nothing. I finally found a dr who tested him even more for as much as he could think of, finally he was diagnosed with having a mood disordered and not ADD or ADHD. My 8 year old who has the ADHD takes a small dose of medication a day, he eventually grew out of his behavioral issues and really isnt that bad but he can sit still and pay attention long enough to listen to me. The 7 year for almost a year now has been weaned from the ADHD meds, he still takes medication to help him sleep at night because his mind works alot and he can make himself easily upset and it all starts back over again. You would think that he is an ADHD child but he has been taking a seizure medication as a mood stabilizer, its healing his brain and most time he is very good, In fact people cant believe how great that he is. In addition to this, he takes therapy 2 times a month, see a dr 2 times a month and has a counselor that helps him cope with school and other stress that may trigger his behavioral issues or tantrums.



This may not have answered your question but the truth is you wont get it from yahoo answers. See another dr, ask for blood test, food allergy testing and more. Take notes on what time of the day he is worse, is he eating at that time and what - change his diet up and his bedtime. I found that a very close schedule helps them to stay more calm. Find him a special place that he can leave from, child proof it and put up gates like in your living room. This way that he can be free and when he cant get into trouble it will be much easier. When he takes a tantrum - make sure that he is in that special location and lay him on the floor and let him cry and when he is done make sure that you pick him up and hug him ask him does he want to talk about what made him upset and help him to deal with his emotions. At age 4 there isnt alot that he can understand about himself, like why this makes him so sad. If a certain toy gets him angry take it away and never get it back. Some people on her might start to comment me rudely as well but I dont care. My husband gets aggravated with my 7 year old and wants to spank him sometimes but if I hug him he instantly stops.
anonymous
2009-07-22 18:56:22 UTC
just try to tell him your resons for doing things and ignore his tantrums. if you are in a public area and it is possible, just take him outside and go home.

be patient as you can with his tantrums and frustrating ways and hope he will eventually understand your reasons for doing things he dislikes and outgrow it. best of luck!
duce
2009-07-22 19:00:56 UTC
Well, im asian and my parents used to take a shirt hanger or anything thats wood or hard except for the face and hit me everywhere very hard. It may sound bizarre but if you tell another asian that your parents did that to you, he will be like "thats it" lol.





You have to use hard diciplen like yelling taking his toys away and NEVER give them back until you see he has changed in progress. And dont spoil him, yell at him, no video games, and if you guys go somewhere fun then dont bring him because he's not being good.





But you dont have to do it all the time. When he's being good then be nice to him and stuff, that will show him that if he'e being good, then he will get his stuff back and be respected and stuff. Trust me, he will realize it.





Thats what my parents did to me and even my grandma when i was being bad. That gave me fear and made me good. I'm not saying you have to do it.......its your choice.
DaLady
2009-07-22 18:53:14 UTC
I would say its time for testing by a child psychologist
vina4
2009-07-22 18:59:22 UTC
get his sugar tested if he might have diabetes that could be the reason why he is up and down with his moods
Susan
2014-08-02 17:41:28 UTC
Just have him put down.


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