5 year old step son keeps kicking 32w wife in stomach

[slingingshot15]

Hey all,

Just looking for some advice and wisdom.

My 5yo stepson can have a real mean temper on him and frequently lashes out at his mother, recently he's discovered the easiest way to get his mother to leave him alone is if he boots her in the stomach.

I was upset the first time, but over the weekend this has happened 3 times now. I've tried sitting down and talking to him about it, early bedtimes to calm down, removing toys as punishment, etc.

Last night was a bad one and I explained to him why it's wrong and what to do should he find himself getting upset and we left it all on good terms ready to start a new day...

... and then again first thing this morning came to find my wife crying on the sofa because he had did it again. I'm really unsure what to do.

Thanks for reading.

 

[userischris]

@slingingshot15 Discipline him.

He knows it’s wrong, he doesn’t need conversations but he needs firm boundaries.

Edit: obviously he still needs love and affection too, it’s not one or the other.

 

[3rdeye]

@userischris It sounds like he actually needs emotional connection. Quality time with the parents, and validation for his clear feelings of jealousy towards his sibling to be.

 

[johnlittleelm]

@userischris How do you explain boundaries without conversation?

 

[userischris]

@johnlittleelm I mean the conversations have already happened, the kid knows what he’s doing is wrong.

Of course there’s emotional reasons behind what he’s doing, but he needs to learn that there’s acceptable ways to express emotions and there’s unacceptable ways. And unfortunately, children simply don’t understand beyond their own wants and needs at that age.

Consequences need to be put in place now. It’s a safety problem and soft parenting, as great as it is for some, doesn’t sound like the right strategy here.

 

[joeychris]

@johnlittleelm Discipline and or the word that is not allowed in this chat that starts with the letter B and ends with the letter T ya kids possibly

 

[hardcorechristian94]

@userischris Kicky kicky gets the pow pow.

 

[userischris]

@hardcorechristian94 Violence and abuse isn’t discipline.

 

[hardcorechristian94]

@userischris You gets the pow pow.

 

[scheherazade]

@slingingshot15 Probably he is jealous that the baby is getting all the attention. Try to engage him more on the pregnancy activities, so he can understand that he will not be replaced.

 

[slingingshot15]

@scheherazade I was worried about that, baby to be is another boy so perhaps that's a contributing factor. Thanks, I'll see ehat we can do to get him involved more.