Hi Elena,

Changing schools can be a very difficult transition! It is difficult to determine whether the school suspension will help your son or not, so moving forward, I believe that it will be important to better understand your son's feelings about school and the circumstances surrounding the tantrum.

Thus, what has your son said about his experiences in the new school? Has he been able to connect with his peers and teacher? Does he think about and miss his old school? Also, what were the circumstances behind the tantrum? Did his tantrum relate to an academic or social issue?

I imagine he was feeling very frustrated about something occurring within the classroom, and he was not able to manage his frustration in a healthy way. First, you or his teacher could teach him to better understand angry feelings in his body so that he can better identify frustrated feelings before they get too big. What does anger/frustration feel like in his hands, feet, heart? His teacher can work with you to develop some strategies for helping him develop self-control. For instance, in the future, when he gets frustrated, he could go to an agreed upon location in the classroom (e.g., the reading corner) without asking permission. He can have several minutes there of uninterrupted time to calm himself and then the teacher will approach him in order to talk with him in a calm manner. Similarly, your son might practice taking three deep breathes when he feels himself getting frustrated or angry.

Hope this helps!