Not to mention that teaches him crying gets him what he wants.

Hi, I'm the OP. To clarify, he comes from a terrible home. Mother is a druggie, father is abusive. Doesn't get much attention, so I decided to give him a little. I didn't think, however, he would get upset every time I tried to do something else. He is a really sweet kid, he just has a lot of energy and no one wants to spend any time with him so the energy is built up. And by "cries," I didn't mean tears, (his father would hit him whenever he cried and tell him to be a man, so he doesn't cry) I meant crying as in whining.

Does he have ADHD by any chance? If so, that might explain some of this as well, because kids with ADHD often have trouble transitioning from one situation to the next. What we did in a kindergarten I used to work in, was to tell the kids that in five minutes they would have to gather up their things, so that they had time to finish playing. They need a little extra time to prepare. Next time, you could tell him that you'll do, say, three rounds more, but then you'll do something else. And maybe let him choose between a couple of options for the next activity? I hope this can help you in dealing with your little cousin. I have ADHD myself, and this is one of those things that stay with you your whole life. I still need to know about an event at least a week before it happens so that I can plan and prepare, otherwise I get severly stressed out and difficult to be around.

If the family is dysfunctional and abusive, why not report them to Child Protective Services? It would be in the little guys best interest. It's sad that some kids have to live like that because no one will help. :(

#44, his parents won't get him tested for ADHD but he probably has it, and thank you for your advice, I will try it. #46, we have reported them many times. They have even come and looked at their house (the father broke his sons bed and the boy was sleeping on the floor and he told his teacher) which is in the grandparent's bedroom and is trashed. Nothing. They don't seem to care.

They don't really pay attention to him right? That's why he'd whine when you'd do something else because he was finally getting the attention he wanted from someone and then they wanted to do something else. Best thing to do is go to a park. I've had daycare kids like that, that I've had to teach that just because I need to do something else right now doesn't mean I've forgotten about you.

You do realize that it said I WAS?

It also says, "it's been 2 hours" not, "it had been 2 hours" or "after 2 hours" indicating that he was, when posting this, still thumb wrestling.

This actually happened a few weeks back, I just remembered it and posted about it and it had to be in the "today," format. But thank you for making me laugh! And I actually never really tried in the thumb wars, I could easily have played on my phone and still kept him entertained because all he wanted to do was win.

Um I dont think OP typed this while in the middle of thumb wrestling....