My nephew is a terror

AuntieKathy

New Member
My nephew is 5 yrs. old and I have seen a problem for the past 2 1/2 years. He screams, hits, spits, lies, breaks things (camera and computer) flushes things down the toilet (cellphones, TV remotes and my sister's wedding ring), frightens my dog, and if he doesn't feel like talking he will only grunt or scream. He and his older brother (9 years old) rarely get along.

He was kicked out of 1 preschool for breaking toys. The next school told his parents to get him into counseling or he would have to leave.

Now he is in kindergarten and is spending a lot of time in the principal's office for hitting and spitting.

His parents have not been very proactive in monitoring his behaviour. They reward him with candy (in the morning) if he poops in the toilet. He plays for hours on the computer. His mother's idea of discipline is to put him into 2 hour time-outs (I am not exaggerating).

He fits into the ODD catagory.

I don't know how to help, offering help is regarded as a personal affront to my sister's parenting skills. She refuses to put him on medications.

What does an Aunt do?
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Well, the bad part is your not his parents. But ODD rarely stands alone and he has symptoms of other things besides ODD, especially with the grunting. All you can do is encourage sis or bro to take him for an evaluation. I prefer NeuroPsychs. Good luck.
 

JJJ

Active Member
It sounds like his parents may be overwhelmed. Could you help out by babysitting? If so, I'd read "The Explosive Child" first to give you some structure on how to handle him.
 

SRL

Active Member
There's really little that you can do until the parent is ready to seek help. I know it's incredibly frustrating to care for a child and see them not get the help they need. You can bet the school is pushing her and in my opinion they will have more chance at success than a family member.
 
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