Ok Moms I need some advice about my son. He is 10 1/2 and has been really moody lately. He is sleeping alot too. He is not sick, no fever, no sore throat. He gets aggrivated easily and is hard to please and get along with. He is normally very easy going. He doesnt get in trouble to much. He does argue with his little sister but its normal sibling stuff. He did mention to me that he is getting in some teeth. He has lost all his baby teeth and I thought he meant his adult teeth in the place of his baby teeth but when he showed me where they were, its his 12 year molars. He has always gotten teeth early so this didnt surprise me that they are already coming in. Could this be part of his irritabilty? I asked if they were bothering him. He said no. Is he going thru a growth spurt or some hormone changes? I thought it would be a little to early for that. He doesnt have any physical signs like hair under his arms etc. I have tried to talk to him to see if something is bothering him but he says no. Any one have any suggestions?
Well I am glad to know its not just me going thru this. We were out camping this weekend and I pulled him aside after a very difficult day of all of us confinded together on a boat. WOW. I dont think we will be doing that again really soon. I was just trying to give him a few minutes with just me to see if that helped any. Also I wanted him to know that even though the day was rough, I still loved him and wanted to know what I could do to make the next day better. This did help a bit. It doesnt help that his little sister knows exactly what to do to make him mad. He takes it for awhile and then he just kinda snaps and lets her have it back. He really is pretty easy going. He usually only gets in trouble for back talking and that really isnt much either. I think I will try some ibuprofen for a day or so and see if that helps. Thanks Moms
Maybe try giving him ibuprofen for a day and see if easing of the nagging pain of the molars and perhaps growing pains eases his moods as well. Otherwise just let him sleep and tell him that moodiness is not allowed in the family and if he cannot be nice then stay in his room or ride his bike outside or something.
I've heard from many moms that when boys go through puberty, they need alot of sleep. It helps with the irritability even though it appears like they may be lazy, they aren't, they're just growing up. Let him get as much sleep as he needs. I hope this helps!
My son just turned 13, so I have a little practical experience with this. From what I can tell (seeing it personally and from talking with other moms of boys), this is sort of a common phenomenon. It isn't ALL hormone/puberty related, but some of it probably is. A bigger part seems to be that they are reaching the age where they want to be a little more independent from mom/dad. They are stretching a bit and testing new limits and boundaries. Seeing how different moods/behaviors/language fits them. It will get better.
My still sometimes moody young man, has hugged me so much lately that I overlook some of the surliness, lol. And he is getting better at regulating that side of his moods all on his own. :)
Breathe deeply, Mom. There's more to come. :)
Looks like there are a few of us going through it.
Sounds like my 10 yo regularly happy -- now picking fights with his sisters and strutting his "stuff", he even back-talked me. Which I say because for 10 years he has been pretty easygoing.
So, him being number 4, I chalk all this up to hormones starting to come in and my precious baby turning slowly into that being we know as "the teenager".
Even my hubby said last night that he was sorry we couldn't make any more babies, ours were growing so fast and it would be too soon that they would be gone.
We are pretty strict with all of ours.
Rules have to be spelled out, but I give mine choices
NO you may not have caffeine colas, but you may have diet, no caffeine, coke or root beer, last night's arguement, at Steak and Shake
No you may not eat candy now, but you may have celery with peanut butter or pretzels and dip. Every night's arguement
You may not wear that shirt, it has holes, find another. Every day until I grab whichever shirt out of the wash and pitch it.
And how come 10 yo's put holes in all their shirts?!?
puberty... hang on tight your in for a fun ride :)
Ah, welcome to puberty.....
First comes mood swings
Then hair in random places
Then more mood swings
These keep alternating until they are about 20 (so I am told)
Mine is 15 and I swear I didn't know boys got so moody. Ugh.
Also, with my son, sleeping a lot has always signaled a growth spurt.
I second the Ibuprofen - it will at least lessen any swelling in his gums and may make him feel better, hence reducing the moodiness.
As for the moodiness - I just point out to my son when he is being particularly sullen so he can learn to adjust his attitude. Sometimes it works, sometimes I just send him to another room. :) It may be time for the "when your body matures" talk to begin explaining the changes that will happen and give him a road map to help him navigate through this.
Good Luck
God Bless
My younger stepson was always generally a reasonably agreeable kid - then one day I had him and his brother for the day while Dad was working and they were at our home for the weekend. He had turned 10 a few months before, and I figured we would just spend the whole day doing fun stuff - take them out to breakfast, a movie, try some ice skating. 10 year old did nothing but give me attitude and back talk the entire time and by the end of the day I had had it. I don't know what came over him but it was another 6 years before he finally decided to grow out of it. Seems that kids today are hitting puberty at younger ages and now "tweens" are no longer immune to this kind of stuff. It could be what is going on with him, and you can try talking with him about it some more, as well as not let his sister push his buttons - but at the same time he still needs to show you respect and not be rude.
Hate to say this but...this is the beginning of a few not so fun years with boys. They are having alot of hormonal changes going on and it's just some tough years in general. With our oldest, now 18, now until 14-15 were some on and off times of acting like this. Our twins will be 11 in Sept and he has really hit this same thing as well.
Boys get hormonal same as girls, could be that or a variety of things all at once. My kids have always slept more when they were going through a growth spurt, I do not remember my molars coming in but I know how much my wisdom teeth bothered me and I was a cranky bugaboo when that happened.
I do not think 10 is too young for hormone issues, I have a 10 year old daughter who is Very hormonal.
It's part of the summer growth spurt many boys go through. It is hormonal but not necessarily the type that comes with secondary sex characterists (hair etc) The long bones of the legs grow. Let him sleep long hours. He's tired from the changes and he growth he's going through.
Do not buy or serve chicken grown with hormones. That makes his situation worse as it is estrogen in the chicken which is responsible for so many children maturing extremely early.
Do a few things with him alone this summer like a movie or a dinner out for just the two of you. Go to the library and get some books and movies you can share. Read different stories to your daughter so she gets special time with you too.
He'll be himself in a couple of months.
