Meltdown

Ever since Todd was very little, before he was even walking, he showed a propensity for violent and aggressive outbursts. Since it was evident in him at such a young age, it's quite obviously attributed entirely to nature, not environment. Which just means we'll have to work doubly hard to reign him in and make sure that outside influences don't make it even worse!

Today's episode after school only exemplified how difficult it is to "tame" him.

I let Todd play on the playground with his friends after school. When it came time to go home, he outright refused. Many times he'll simply bawl and beg (like most little kids do), but often he'll resort to fits of anger and lashing out. Hard. Today he chose the latter, and a very severe form of it at that! He started screaming and kicking. So much so that everyone turned and stared, and the kids he was playing with shrank away from him. He was flailing about so much that I could not drag him to the car, and so I had to pick him up-- one arm holding his chest, and the other hooked behind one leg (to minimize the kicking). Then when we got in the car, he refused to sit down. I'd push him into the car seat and he'd immediately get up, making it extremely difficult for me to strap him into his seat. It took every last ounce of energy I had to finally buckle him in and get on the road. I realized then that it wouldn't be long before he would become too strong (physically) for me to overpower him in future such situations.

All along the drive home he screamed and kicked violently, begging to go back to the playground, and ordering me in no uncertain terms to turn around and go back to his school. For the first time in my life I had to yell at the top of my lungs in order to make myself be heard above his screams. I realized it was pointless to try to reason with him when he was that agitated, so all I could do along the drive home was to warn him to calm down. He finally did, and at that point I could explain to him what happened and why I took him out of the playground.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened. He is only 3 years old but exceptionally strong for his age, and very stubborn. Okay, most kids can be stubborn and refuse to listen, but most kids will simply cry. Or if they do throw fits, it isn't particularly violent. This kid? Brings a whole new definition to the terms "mean" and "destructive".

It's going to take a lot to keep his attitude in check, but I hope in the end all our efforts will pay off. They say that nature and nurture go hand-in-hand in shaping a child's personality and character. I agree. Todd's already got nature working against him, which only means we'll all have to make an extra effort to make sure that the nurturing portion of his upbringing will cancel out nature.