The Leash

Big D has been experimenting with attention-seeking behavior lately. He wants to see where I will draw the line. These behaviors usually only come up when Dad has been gone for a couple of days or Big D is feeling anxious. In the last six weeks, here are some of the behaviors he has tried out.

He was sitting with me one morning eating his breakfast while I got ready for work. This is not a normal mourning routine, but he was having a rough morning. He was trying to ruffle my feathers, but I held my cool. So he kept raising the stakes little by little: name-calling, sassing, pushing, and so on. Finally he threatened to touch my flat iron and then immediately followed through. Luckily it was only a minor burn on the very tip of one finger, but he spent several days upset over his own behavior.

The second incident was when he got angry and threatened to jump out of his window - on the second  floor of our old Victorian home. Since I was home alone and still freaked out by the flat iron incident, I nailed his window closed. Maybe not the best solution, but it was all I had at the time. At least it kept him safe.

Awhile later, we had an incident with a leash. He was playing nicely with his siblings, and then he came to me and said, "Look at my neck." Upon inspection, i correctly guessed that he had taken he leash and choked himself.  Neither of his siblings ever mentioned anything about it, but I was pretty upset.

Although he is not trying to hurt himself, I am concerned about his need for attention and for his exploration of self-harming behavior. Needless to say, we have had some extra therapy sessions and some interesting communication with school. I am very thankful we have such a network of support for ourselves and for our children. We haven't had an incident for a couple of weeks now, so I am hoping this phase is over.