Blog: School Struggles, Learning Disabilities & Other Kid Stuff

We have been discussing the theme of difficult (opposite) children and how they can cause families to feel like they are being held hostage by their child's challenging behaviors. 

In the last post, I suggested that parents were often not to blame for creating their child's behavior, since in most families one or two of the children are typically flexible, while one is more challenging. However, I also noted that the intervention to address the difficult child was to be focused on the parent, not on the child.

Why is this so?

In many households there are children causing great distress who are temperamentally, rigid and inflexible. These kids have poor coping skills and become quite volatile if something does not go their way.

John and Mary Ellen are the bleary-eyed parents of three children. The oldest two, ages 11 and 9 are pretty easy-going. For example, when their parents ask them to get ready for bed, the children put up the usual fuss, but before long, they are in bed being read stories. Essentially, the oldest two go along with the program.

Not young Marissa.

"Step right up folks! Our unproven, unsubstantiated therapy and treatment is guaranteed to cure all things bothering you about your child. That’s right for the low fee, special offer of $3,499 over the next year, we will cure bedwetting, ADHD, reading disabilities, and just plain child orneriness!!! All you have to do is plunk down your money (special 10% discount if paid in full up front) and bring your child in for treatment - twice a week over the year, and you will see results in all things child.

Many shut-down learner kids, have great trouble with different facets of language that we often take for granted.

Take Emma, age 8.  The other night, Emma was told by her mother that her father was “tied up in traffic.”  Emma burst into tears.  “Why is daddy being tied up,” she sobbed.

It took her mother some time to explain to Emma that her father wasn’t literally being tied up and that it was an expression commonly used when people are stuck in traffic.