My nine year old son has a bad temper.

There is a good possibility he has Bipolar Disorder or Oppositional Defiance Disorder. He even might have ADD/ADHD!

Talk to his Family Doctor and ask what could/should be done to help him with his anger issues. Therapy and/or medication are always possibilites.

Our sons have ADHD both have been prescribed Daytrana - Patch system. The younger (10yr old 4th grader) uses it daily. Older son (almost 15 - 9th grade) says "It don't work"! That's probably because it focus' his attention to where it's suppose to be - ON TASK! Younger son NOTICES a HUGE difference when he takes it.

It tooks us MONTHS to FINALLY decide on Daytrana. WE chose it because of it's ease - NO pills = NO fighting! Just peel & stick! It does have an appetite suppressant so we have to make sure he eats before he leaves for school and eats lunch/dinner.

There is a HUGE difference when he is OFF the patch. HE drives you NUTSO in a matter of minutes. Just bouncing off the walls. He also has OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - HE nags until you give in.

Leave no stone unturned. Keep asking questions and getting the answers you want, need AND require! Research every aspect of what is going on with your son! Be vigilant in your quest/search for answers.

Good Luck.

Admittedly, one of the problems with allowing "Anonymous" posts is that it's difficult to track who is asking the question...
In this case, from following the "chain" of responses, I believe MommyOf_3 is the original poster, and she's mentioned that her son's angry behavior scares her. They've already tried some therapy sessions, and she's trying to figure out what else besides medication might help.
Alvera is a different poster, whose son also exhibits problems that involve finding better ways to manage anger.
I believe modeling good behavior and using reward systems can be effective for "neurotypical" children, but when you're dealing with kids who have complex issues, the answers, unfortunately, aren't as simple.

Thanks for jumping in. I'm always up for a good discussion. Indeed I have 2 of my own ages 8 and 10. My posts were directed toward the original posting by, "anonymous" who didn't seem to indicate a medical diagnosis or any evidence suggesting a learning disability. As I am not a special education teacher, pediatrician or child psychologist I don't feel qualified to address questions or concerns from parents who have children with a medical or clinical diagnosis. My experience and knowledge base is drawn from the past 20 years of teaching, coaching and one on one work with families. Thanks for sharing your expertise in this area.

Best,
Joe Bruzzese

JoeBruzzese, do you have any children of your own? Do any of them have diagnosed special education issues? I agree with many of the things you say, but not all. For example, in the case of your earlier post, you mentioned, "Consider modeling the behaviors you are looking for, acknowledging his effort toward patience and ignoring those behaviors that don't match what you expect." It's one thing to talk about motivation, but when you have posters like alvera and mommyof_3 whose children have tempers and are physically touching or fighting with others, you can't simply ignore those behaviors. I doubt those parents model hitting to begin with, and for some children, they really need professional intervention and/or treatment. I think it's misleading to say that a reward system will solve serious problems...