You guys. This kid is 3. And he’s an absolute nightmare. I’m not talking ‘throw a tantrum when he’s overstimulated’ or ‘melts down over big feelings’ kind of tantrum. I’m talking trashes the house and throws everything within reach, drags his sibling around by their hair for no reason, destroys anything and everything he gets his hands on, bites, kicks, scratches, throws hands if you sit next to him and he doesn’t want you there.

I have other children, I know what the terrible twos and threes look like. This is that on steroids.

At school, no issues. They say he’s a personality, but he’s never in trouble, he’s never hurt another child, he listens, he participates, he’s fine.

We’ve tried talking to him on his level, we’ve tried timeout, we’ve tried counting down, we’ve tried taking things away, we’ve tried rewarding his good behavior, we’ve tried bribes. We spend time with him one on one. We read, we watch movies. We’ve done everything we can to help him regulate his emotions. This is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

At this point we never know if it’s going to have a good or bad day. We don’t know if he’s going to rip our house apart, hurt his siblings, hurt the dog, hurt us, hurt himself.

Today out of nowhere he took a homemade ornament from his brother off the tree and bit it into pieces. He told me he got confused and thought the ornament was food when I asked him why he did it. He followed that performance up with throwing a bowl of cereal off the table because it was the wrong kind.

I’m at a loss. I don’t know if I need to medicate him, get him a therapist or get him a priest.

Anyone else with experience here? Help me.

* note, don’t tell me to spank him, I’m trying to teach him not to hit when he feels upset, not show him that’s the right way to solve a problem.