Acting-Out in Second Grade What Can We Do?
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The primary grades are critical times in a child’s intellectual, social, and emotional development. It is not at all uncommon for a child in the second grade to act out from time to time. In fact, acting out occasionally is a mark that your child is indeed developing, that he is engaging others socially, and that he is learning and growing as a person. However, acting out regularly, or acting out severely in second grade can be very disconcerting. In some cases, a second grade child will just seem to start acting out without warning. Fortunately, there are things that you can do when a child in second grade is acting out.
The first step in trying to figure out what you can do about problems with acting out in second grade is to identify what exactly may be causing the child to act out. It probably isn’t the transition to grade school, as that would have led more to acting out in first grade rather than waiting to act out until second grade. Acting out in second grade tends to be caused by one of three things. Acting out in second grade can often be caused by social problems, by academic stress, or by family problems.
Social problems that might lead to acting out in second grade can include things like bullying or teasing. It could be that a second grade child is being teased, and acts out to try to feel better about himself. It may be that the second grade child who is acting out is socially awkward, and has difficulty making friends, and acts out to be noticed. It could also be that the second grade child who is acting out is having a personality clash with a classmate or a teacher.
A second grade child that acts out may be stressed by the academic requirements put in front of him. While most second grade teachers are good at keeping things somewhat low key, the fact of the matter is that today’s second graders have quite a bit more homework than in years past. If a second grade child is acting out in class during instructional time, it may be a sign that this is the case.
Finally, problems at home can, of course, cause a second grade child to act out. If the parents are going through a divorce, a second grade child is likely to act out, even if the divorce is relatively amicable. If a child is in an abusive situation, whether by a parent or someone else, the child is also going to act out.
Identifying and addressing the specific problem that is causing the second grade child to act out is the only way that you can do anything to resolve the issue of the child acting out.
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