[buckeyemomma]

very well put ketzel. I have raised 7 and now have an almost 13 yr old [I adopted] and a 31/2 yr old grandson living with me. The older one is jealous of the 31/2 yr old and the 31/2 yr old has a terible temper. His Doctor is also a child psychiatrist[spell] and he advised us to try to ignore him if it is a small'fit' and if he is really throwing a big 'fit' to restrain him if we have to,until he calms down.Sometimes he will go in his room and whine a while and if we ignore him,he will come out on his own and say he's sorry. Kids this age are smarter than we give them credit for and they learn really quick how to get their way and how to "push your buttons".Sometimes when he gets upset about something,I tell him to choose a book for us to read or a video we can watch together[I keep the 30 min. ones seperate from the others for this reason]or tell him we'll feed the birds,but not till you are quiet because it will scare them.then I let him put bird feed or bread outside the window and we go back in and watch them.Usually,I can find something to get his attention so he isn't upset any more.I have even played "cars" with him.Or we sing songs.He has learned quite a few songs doing this and his abc's and how to spell"Christopher" and he loves doing "Itsy Bitsy Spider".He aalso is getting old enough to use a sticker chart or just stars. It also can teach them to count,if you use a certain number of stars for a small reward or use colors. Like red for misbehaving or blue for doing a chore like picking up his toys. I could ramble on forever,but I better get to bed now. Good Luck to you.