Before I found information for "Spirited Children," I was a mom on the edge. I
could not understand why my boys acted
the way they did. They were either
really good, or really bad. They pushed the limits all the time. Discipline
didn't do much good, they would stop for a while, but always the behavior came
back. I felt like a failure as a parent.
Then I discovered the "Spirited
Child." I found out that my children
were not abnormal! There was a reason
for the intense reactions and emotions,
even the sensitivity to certain
clothing, like the seams in the toe of
the socks. They weren't trying to drive me nuts! They truly are more, more intense, more energetic, more everything.
I hope that you find these links as
helpful as I have. I am just learning
about this, so I will update the page as I learn.
One other thing, spirited children are often labeled "hyperactive." ADD or ADHD are true disorders, but just because a child is spirited, does not mean he has these. It can be tricky, because many characteristics are so similar. For example, my Adam has ADD. He takes low does of Ritalin during school hours. It was just enough so he could block out sounds, like the air conditioner running, and listen or concentrate. The poor boy was distracted by every little noise, he just could not block it out. A spirited child may be distractable, but can find what is important (or salient, a nice education word I learned :)), and focus on it.
If you are the parent of a spirited
child, and feel like you are on the
edge, please learn more about this subject. Once you understand WHY your children act the way they do, you can learn discipline techniques to better teach them to deal with the world.
Please feel free to e-mail me with any
suggestions for links or other
information.
Cherise's Spirited Child Page
Coping with the Spirited Child
Parents of Spirited Children
Parents of Spirited Kids
Working with Spirited Children I
Working with Spirited Children II
The Challenge of the Difficult Child (I don't like the title, but some good info here)