6 yr old crybaby?

Question

How do i make my six yr old stop acting like a baby. He crys about stupid stuff like what were having for dinner, or if I tell him to put his socks on. He also sucks his thumb. Otherwise he's a good sweet kid

Answer 1

There is something bothering him and he does not know how to tell you. These acts are the signs that something is playing in his head and he either does not know how to express it, or he is afraid to. (No offense to you, kids are afraid of many things. He may be afraid of disappointing you.) or There is a new baby in the house, or a new baby closely related who is around a lot and he is feeling "replaced" or "ignored"
Which ever it is, he is not acting out to get attention, he just is not sure how to express himself articulately.
There are a couple more things it may be, if there is a new man in your life, he may feel like he is not important anymore. We all know how our minds can play with us. If he has older siblings, one may be harassing him, if no older siblings, may be there is someone at school that is bullying him. (Unless he is on vacation.)

Answer 2

He's at an age where he's too big to be a baby but too little to do a lot of things. Maybe he whines because he feels like he can't control things and doesn't know how to ask for them like a big kid. Maybe when you cook dinner you can let him choose the vegetable or have him help by setting the table or folding the napkins. Praise him for his efforts. He'll soon look forward to helping and feel good about himself because he is able (don't expect perfection right away!).

Also, some kids don't transition well. So give him a warning -- like 10 minutes before you have to leave for somewhere, tell him that you need to go in 10 minutes so he can play one more game and then he needs to get his socks on. Be sure that he hears you. . .if he's absorbed in an activity he might not.

Seems to me that punishing him or yelling at him may only make him feel less in control and will make his behavior worse.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Many 6 year olds can be emotional and it is very normal. The key isn't to yell at him for his crying, but reward him for when he makes a decision to not cry. I deal with this all the time in my classroom. I had a little girl this year that cried all the time. We talked about why she was crying and we worked out things she can do to solve her problems and what she can do instead of expressing herself through tears. When I saw her getting upset, but she was able to pull herself out of it, I would let her put a sticker on her chart. There were still days when she cried, but they were fewer and were more caused by her emotions rather than for attention. For the thumb sucking, you can put finger nail polish remover or finger nail polish on his thumbs because they don't like the taste. You can put bandages on his thumb, or you can give him something else to help his oral fixation, such as a some bubble gum or something that lasts longer than a jaw breaker.

Answer 4

it is a phase but hang in there...
dont even talk to him abou this whiney behaviour... dont answer him when he whinges... make him feel that he does not get attention this way....
set small tasks for hi to do and praise him when he does it without complaining... tell him he acted like such a grown up boy
you may have to do some of hte tasks with him and show them how it is done ... set him up to succeed not to fail
get him to help out with shopping... dont buy any junk foods at all... talk about healthy foods
use a reward chart every time he acts like a big boys he gets a star... then when he gets 10 stars he gets to pick a treat... thins is when he can use his reward to buy something unhealthy or whatever he wants... but it has to have a budget of no more than $2...
keep it fun and positive...
maybe get some older children around for a play... someone he can leanr good behaviours from

Answer 5

That used to drive me crazy at the dinner table. Every night my little boy used to pull that stunt. Favorite foods do not work otherwise you will end up with mac n cheese or hot dogs coming out your ears. Don't do special foods just for them either because the next thing you know you are a short order cook. I got so sick of this and told mine "if you can't sit here and eat dinner nicely with the rest of us then you can't be here. Go to your room." Big tantrum! Picked him up, brought him to his room, closed the door. We listened to him scream through the next 10 minutes but at least it was from far away. HE came out and said "I'll be good now." He was. Ate his dinner, life was good. Same performance the next night and the next with the same treatment from me. This went on for about a week. I won! It is now two years later. He eats dinner with us every night without a fit. Most times he is still the last one done but at least it is a pleasant dinner. Good luck!

Answer 6

If your going to cry go to your room and give yourself a break.

Thats it. no arguing no discussing. If its not important dont give him any attention- positive or negative.
Dont like whats for dinner and starts crying.... go to your room.Come out when you r done,

Let him know at a time he is not crying that this is the new rule.
Dont make it a punishment. If you need a break go cry in your room.
My friends daughter still crys and she a teen, way annoying, she always made a big deal out of it.and she has always gotten attention for it.

Also warning.... he may cry MORE at first just to see what youll do. stand firm, let your husband know too. STAY CALM.
Thumb sucking....email me.

Answer 7

Tell him to stop acting like a baby or he will sit in time out until he can be a big boy.

As for the sucking on his thumb you can try painting the thumb with lemon juice, pull it back out everytime he puts it in his mouth and tell him no, and you can try this thing from onestepahead.com.

http://www.onestepahead.com/product/85200/984/117.html

Answer 8

Tell him that he is a big boy now. When he throws a tantrum, ignore him and soon he will learn that doing that doesn't work. Thumb sucking will stop eventually, some kids take a longer time to outgrow it.

Answer 9

tell him he is not a baby and not to act like that..maybe u can make out a dinner schedule and maybe find out what foods will make is dinner be better...about the socks..my son is 2 and he dont like socks so im clueless on that one lol....good luck with your boy

Answer 10

my son is like that too. he just turned 7 but he has never sucked his thumb. my son is an only child so far and me and his dad divorced a little over 3 years ago, divorce is hard on young kids...makes them act out.