My hubby would suggest duct taping him to the porch post, but your neighbors are liable to call the law on ya. I don't know what to tell ya sweetie. I don't even know what to do with myself when I get like that. But, I am giving you big hugs right now. Hope he calms down soon and that you still have some hair left by the time he does!!

thanks Zany.

Any other takers?

I know this doesn't sound like shit, but one of the best things you can do is not really much of an active stance------don't take things personally with him today. Remember where everything is coming from and take a view of handling him rather than "discipline", and don't let any adult bully or pressure or embarrass you into doing anything different with him than what needs to be done.

As much as you can, make sure all his physical needs are met. Nutrtion, rest (that may not be possible, and if not, don't try to force it), etc. Try to limit his sugar and additives today but don't try to go cold turkey on anything that he's used to getting regularly, if that makes sense at all.

Tactile experiences can distract like water. Could he be convinced to take a bath with interesting bath toys. Not necessarily to wash even, just to have the whole body experience and if it's hot, maybe a cool bath instead of a warm one? Wading pool? I would suggest the public pool but all the people and noise could set him off.

Is there anything that's really engaging that you could let him do or do with him? Some project? Is he too short tempered already for that? If his temper is too short for a lot of activities then you have to dumb things down to more simpler activities.

I would say try to steer clear of things that trigger like crowds, too much noise, other kids that try his patience, tasks that he finds challenging on normal days, disruptions in his normal routine, and today is not a good day to ask him to share anything of his with anyone new. If he's asked to share with someone that he lives with and is supposed to share with every day, that's fine. Just not the day to like babysit and have him share his fav cookie with his cousin or something like that, ya know?

Kava Root and Valerian are both good calming herbal supplements. Don't overdo the Kava. It's fine as long as you follow the directions, but too much Kava makes the liver work too hard. We gave our son Kava in the morning and again in the afternoon when he was having a lot of problems and no psych meds for it. It helped keep him a little more stable.

thanks jaybear.

He's pretty much isolated himself at this point. He's having nothing to do with anyone but the cats. His mood swung the other way and now he's a bit calmer.

I'm trying to just take it a moment at a time with him, but I'm in a rough place too, and it's hard to bear.

He keeps doing things he's not supposed to, some things that you don't even want to know about really. Then he denies he's done anything even if yo ucatch him red handed. It's really frustrating.

Does he happen to like to crawl up into refridgerator boxes or anything? That's really comforting to my son when he's like that. LOL. Cats. Too funny. We have one of those---a cat whisperer kid that sometimes seems to only truly connect with the feline world, LOL.

I know it's harsh. We have all three been going off nutty at one time on many occasions and it's hella hard to know what to do for a kid in that situation when you're about to lose it yourself........or already have. LOL.

It sounds like you're doing the best you can do for the most part.

We kind of accidentally set up an us vs. them kind of situation with our kids sometimes, and I found that once I got through to my kid that I was ultimately always on his side and that I needed and much appreciated his cooperation, it got a LOT easier. I got him to understand that we need to be united against the outside world, not fighting amongst ourselves if we can help it. There are still problems of course, but it really did make a big difference in his outlook and he tries harder to help me and cooperate with me instead of seeming to be plotting against me. LOL.

Call your pdoc.

That's awesome that you were able to do that with your kids. My son just won't hear anything you say. You can put any spin on it that you want and it doesn't matter.

He's really down on himself...refused to go to bible school b/c he "never gets to do anything fun", "the other kids make fun of him", "everyone will laugh at him", etc, etc. But when it comes down to it, in reality, he's the bully.

I just don't know what to do with him today. Since I'm moving I have some boxes, maybe I'll put one together for him and just let him play in it. That's a good suggestion.

thanks again jaybear.

When my son was 7 years old he was prescribed clonidine. He just hated it and was miserable. Finally, one night, I decided to take it. And I felt the horrible effects. I took him right off the med and just had a therapist help him with his problems - no meds. He's 14 years old and just fine. I hope things turn out well for you and your son - I know living with a young child who has problems is just a constant worry and always on your mind.

thanks screwtape...the most generic and obvious suggestion.

I've been trying to distract him. I put together a box for him to play in and he looked at me like I had 5 heads. But its there for him to play with if he wants.

I can't get him to help me with packing... maybe I can weasel him into packing some of his toys. I dunno.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Five heads, huh? Sheesh!! I have enough trouble with one!! giggle. As far as implementing any changes with him, the time to do that is when he is calm and approachable and you can talk to him. Maybe after the move and such. Still wishing you the best sweetums. Big hugs.

he might be acting out for attention today, and knowing you are moving might be upseting him. My oldest son has problems too and he acts out when big change it going to happen. That is when I would hug him and tell him everything will be ok. He might just need a little more TLC today than usual.

everytime l move l get a trigger even going on holiday as a change from my routine sets one off, so l'd guess its the move for your son too thats upsetting him, so he needs to hear the really great things about it. Try mentioning places he can visit, having a friend stay, colours to paint his new room, he may still have mood swings but for me it was concentrating on the good side that helped the swings stop or l was like a cat in headlights...

l did childmind 2 little boys through my uni years the eldest had such a problem with me that after a few weeks l was tempted to leave, he just couldn't deal with the change he loved his old minder. l talked it over with a friend who told me to stay just a few more weeks, he went away camping for a week and l had the best time with his little bro.

l was anxious on his return day but as he walked past my bedroom door he said hello and gave me the widest smile.....he'd missed me, at last the break through and it was great fun after that. You need to find that thing that will make the move safe and good in his little head instead of horrible change.

Can you take him swwimming anywhere?