[alexserica]

I am a first year teacher in Second grade with 2 children who are very whiny . The tantrums and whiny-ness range from getting a problem wrong in computer lab, not getting picked on during whole group lesson, not getting their place in line, etc... The two children automatically cross their arms, furrow their brow and go "hmph!!" loudly and, depending on the day, start crying. I don't feel that they are socially challengened...or anything is wrong at home (besides them possibly running the household). If I get on to them or they have to flip a card, they are in all out "tantrum" mode. These 2 kids are draining me each day, as I am trying to deal with them and the rest of my class. Any advice you can give on how to handle/ help them overcome this would be GREATLY appreciated.

TIA

[multigrade]

I'm sorry you've got to deal with those kids who act like this. Obviously, when they act like brats at home, it works. This may not be what you want to hear, but I'd think they will keep it up until they realize it won't work, or until the consequences are so awful, they change. They THINK it will work, or they wouldn't keep it up.

Maybe someone here will have some good 'consequences' to this behavior. For me, they just keep digging the hole deeper, until they quit--keep missing more recesses, etc.--but I think I have more leverage than some of those here. I can take away just about EVERYTHING.

[NYteacher8]

Hello!
Once a week I choose "star student." The students all have personal goals to reach when they do, they can become star student! (of course on top of following all class rules and bringing in homework). The star student gets a small prize, they get to pick their job for a week, wear a special star student medal, get their picture on a board, and sit on a pillow while were at carpet time. They also get to pick our daily snack for the week! They are all competing for it! I had this one student who was a tantrum king. After he saw all his friends become star student and saw what a big deal it was to earn it, he asked me what he can do to become star student. I spoke to him about his calling out, and tantrums that are not appropriate. We spoke about other ways to handle his emotions and I have to say, this week might be his week to get it, I've seen a 180 turn in him! Make other students the example, show the students what they need to act like in order to get such an award!
Hope this helps (it also helps reward the students who are working really hard and deserve it)

[maymay]

SOunds like the original poster and I have clones! I have two girls that are the same way....I started flipping cards and they started oweing me recesses....recess after recess, sometimes music/p.e. depending on how severe it was.....that seemed to not help so I just started ignoring it and when they saw that I didn't seem to care about them crying or throwing a fit/or that it didn't bother me, they stopped....I realized that making them stay in at recess and flipping cards was escalating the behavior and that ignoring it made a bigger impact on them NOT doing it as often because they knew that it didn't seem to bother me and I wasn't going to go into a power struggle with them, which is what they wanted. I hope that makes sense and it was really hard for me to ignore it and to get the rest of the kids to ignore it, but now they aren't doing it EVERYDAY like before...now it's like only 2 days a week....HA!

I also made tickets for them so that when they didn't get something their way and wouldn't cry or throw a fit, they got a ticket and then when they collected so many tickets they received a reward. SOmetimes the tickets for immediate rewards and others went to a long term reward. This has also seemed to help and I always encourage them and praise them that they can handle not having everything their way and I'm proud of them for not having a fit and that I KNOW they can do it!

Hope these help or are some things you can use. It has seemed to help with my two and has made the days go much better and the rest of the class isn't feeling the blunt of their tantrums either.

[Mamaw2one]

I have 5 of them this year! (It has been a year!) Two of them, I do a communitcation log that goes home everyday with the behaviors list - good and bad. For one of them it seems to be helping, the other......I think that sooner or later he will come around as well.

I know what you mean about being drained. I have subs that won't come back to my room!

[teachWI4fun]

NYteacher8 do you have anything typed up about your star student? Would you mind sharing it? I also have troubles with listening and following rules and I think this would really work in my classroom. If you have something that you would be willing to share please post it on here or e-mail me at agenung janesville.k12.wi.us THANKS!