Geoff* has had trouble with his son’s behavior for years.

At six years old, Alexander* has been the cause of stress around the house.

With “little-to-no impulse control,” he easily gives in to his intrusive thoughts, thus creating havoc around the house and everywhere he goes.

Geoff and his wife, Hannah*, have tried everything to keep their child under control, but to no avail. 

“We’ve used positive/negative reinforcement, reward charts, the lot,” Geoff shared to Reddit. “Nothing works.”

Over time they noticed Alexander “seems to react angrily to kindness” and is “pretty angry all the time.” 

One morning the family decided to visit the local pool to soak up the summer sun. 

The American dad woke with a headache and couldn’t stomach breakfast due to nausea.

But he pushed the feeling aside and continued having fun with his kid and wife at the pool. 

“Had a wonderful time and lots of fun,” Geoff explained. 

But as they were leaving the pool, he felt a grumble from his stomach. “I was very hungry,” he said. 

Geoff headed to the vending machine and handpicked something he could enjoy with Alexander. 

But it wasn’t good enough for him, he admitted. “He wanted his own,” Geoff explained.  

Hannah said this was a perfectly reasonable thing to say; she understood why her son wanted his own snack. 

Sadly, Geoff had run out of change, so he couldn’t get anything else.

Luckily, Hannah came up with a solution.

“She said he could pick something from the supermarket down the road,” he wrote. 

But before they could continue with their day, Alexander shouted, “No, now!” and punched Hannah in the leg. 

“My wife was mortified,” Geoff said. “He continued to rant about how much he hated us.” 

He clarified that the parents “do not hit our children” and “try to teach them it is wrong.”

Parents online explained Alexander’s behavior shouldn’t be accepted and to take steps to disqualify his actions.

“When a child acts out like that in public, you leave whatever you’re doing and take the child to the car and go home,” someone recommended. 

“I don’t think the behavior is super unusual given the circumstances (tired, hungry), but it’s never excusable,” another agreed. 

Some argued that the behavior wasn’t normal at all. 

“The fact that ‘he’s pretty angry all the time’ strikes me as the bigger problem that needs addressing and probably strikes closer to the root of whatever issue you’re having,” added another.

“That’s very much not normal, and no amount of discipline or ‘leaving immediately’ will fix the problem if he’s just constantly angry.” 

Others recommended seeking professional help. “Try behavioral therapy, not only for the child but in a setting for parents and child,” a person wrote. 

“You may want to look into some sort of therapy, it’s not normal and could be a bigger issue, but hopefully not,” read a comment. “I think the important thing to do with kids that do this is to set the expectations, be clear on the consequences and follow through on those every time.”

*Names have been changed