The red zone

  Just when I think someone is beginning to calm down and grow up, he grabs his brother in the street shakes him and throws him to the ground. :(   In front of a crowd of kids. Why? Because his brother wasn't listening and was in front of him.

  He says that he gets into the red zone and then these things happen. He bites, screams, grabs, thumps. It isn't necessarily anger.  Sometimes it's overexcitement.  Once he's in the red he claims he can't stop himself. So how to keep him out of the red? Oh I wish I knew, I wish I knew. It is just a flashpoint, and it never lasts. Right now he is being sweet and delightful, cheering his Dad on in a race on the Wii. In fact he is not prone to this sort of behaviour at home; it's when he is overstimulated. I am just so glad these outbursts are less frequent and that he is beginning to understand himself well enough to describe what is happening to him. The problem is that as he gets bigger the outbursts are more noticeable and harder to deal with. Not small boy tantrums any more.

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  My red zone today was a little different. it was pure embarrassment. At about half past two I suddenly noticed  a loud buzzing noise coming from the dining room, and located it to the radiator valve. It wasn't just normal radiator noises, but very loud and persistent. The heating was off. I turned the valve off. No change. We've had boiler problems recently and I'm a bit jumpy around anything to do with the heating system. I had to leave for the school run soon. Panic. Email himself at work (he's hard to get hold of on the phone.) No reply. I decided to cut losses and get kids, hoping the house would not blow up in my absence. So I quickly moved velcrocat who was sitting on a pile of washing way too close to the radiator for my liking. If the valve blew she'd be right in the line of fire. She's a stubborn miss, and the noise hadn't deterred her at all. 

OOPS. 

Under the washing (and under velcrocat) was one of the boys toy aeroplanes. The cats weight had pushed the 'on' button down and it was buzzing furiously. I switched it off..... perfect peace.
Cue hasty email to Himself calling off the panic, and one rather late Mum collecting kids from school. Fortunately Pup was out of his class late too, because he can panic dreadfully if I'm not there on time to collect.