When our son had his first big temper tantrum around age 12, we weren't sure what was going on. He was very upset and got out of control. I called another Floating Harbor mom who had a son a few years older than ours, and she reported the same behavior. After talking to her and several other FHS parents and dealing with this in our home, I have learned that this is quite common in adolescent FHS children, and that there are a few things we as parents can do to help them when these happens.
1. Something, even a small something, will happen suddenly and really upset the FHS child.
2. Because their hormones do not function properly, the adrenaline rush which happens in normal individuals when something sudden and upsetting happens, does not happen in FHS children.
3. They go a little nuts and throw a huge temper tantrum.
Here is the way we found to most effectively to deal with this issue.
1. Try to calm them down by talking to them. Explaining things usually doesn't work because they are so upset that they are not able to reason logically.
2. If that doesn't work, hold them securely in a big bear hug and then talk calmly and soothingly to them.
3. After a few minutes they will usually calm down and you can release them from the tight hug.
4. STAY WITH THEM and talk to them for about 20-30 minutes to make sure they complete the calming-down process, as the temper tantrum could easily come back.
It is also helpful to figure out what triggers these behaviors and then trying to avoid them. If you know something is coming up that is out of the ordinary, tell the child and explain it to them. If something does suddenly come up, calmly tell the child and explain in a soft soothing voice. This will often help the sudden emotions to be handled by the individual in a better way.
Hang in there, they do go away. Once they are through puberty and the hormones level off, they child will rarely, if ever, have them again.
1. Something, even a small something, will happen suddenly and really upset the FHS child.
2. Because their hormones do not function properly, the adrenaline rush which happens in normal individuals when something sudden and upsetting happens, does not happen in FHS children.
3. They go a little nuts and throw a huge temper tantrum.
Here is the way we found to most effectively to deal with this issue.
1. Try to calm them down by talking to them. Explaining things usually doesn't work because they are so upset that they are not able to reason logically.
2. If that doesn't work, hold them securely in a big bear hug and then talk calmly and soothingly to them.
3. After a few minutes they will usually calm down and you can release them from the tight hug.
4. STAY WITH THEM and talk to them for about 20-30 minutes to make sure they complete the calming-down process, as the temper tantrum could easily come back.
It is also helpful to figure out what triggers these behaviors and then trying to avoid them. If you know something is coming up that is out of the ordinary, tell the child and explain it to them. If something does suddenly come up, calmly tell the child and explain in a soft soothing voice. This will often help the sudden emotions to be handled by the individual in a better way.
Hang in there, they do go away. Once they are through puberty and the hormones level off, they child will rarely, if ever, have them again.
