Parenting Our Children

What is the nature of these social disabilities and what, if anything, can parents do to help their children and adolescents fit in?

Now, watching her daughter’s forlorn profile through the window, Miriam thought, Riki was once a good, happy kid. I don’t know what’s going on but I’m going to find a way back to that place. There has to be a way.

In retrospect, I never was able to get my act together. My childhood was marked by disorganization and clumsiness. I never had pens or loose leaf paper, my briefcase was always a mess, and I was a chronic latecomer. I remember several particularly painful episodes.

It doesn’t matter how good a parent you are, your kids will at some point feel that a sibling got more attention, more gifts, or more cake than they did.

The problem arises when the peers are not all you would have liked them to be, and your child is facing some strong pressure to conform to standards that he knows are not acceptable or, at best, can be found in the murky ‘grey area.’

I present you with this research data not because it’s interesting or cute, but so that you will fully appreciate the significance of the power of peer pressure.

The New York Times explains that in order to be diagnosed with ADHD, children should have at least six attention symptoms or six activity and impulsivity symptoms – to a degree beyond what would be expected for children their age.

Research has indicated that children with learning disabilities often fail to pick up social skills and experience more difficulty making and keeping friends than young people without these problems. Yet, quite often children who academically are well within the mainstream, suffer from these disadvantages as well.

Picture yourself as a child, feeling unable to wait your turn or restrain yourself from blurting out comments as your teacher or parent is speaking. Even though you know full well the negative consequences you will suffer from your behavior, you easily become oppositional and answer back to authority.

It’s true that Executive Function Disorder is becoming a hot topic in education these days. Of course, that is not because more children and adults are dealing with it, but rather because experts have given it a name and have devised ways to deal with its accompanying difficulties.

What are the causes behind output failure? Are we discussing actual dysfunctions of the brain – or does the term merely whitewash certain flaws in character?

What Exactly Is ADD? ADD is a neurological disorder characterized by inappropriate levels of inattention, over-activity, and impulsivity. Symptoms arise in early childhood but are not always identified correctly.

Sometimes parents may not know if their child is being bullied. Some children are intimidated into secrecy. They may also keep quiet because they feel ashamed that they have allowed this to happen. They may fear that the parents will either criticize them or will intervene in a way that will make everything worse.

While children who are extremely socially awkward will often be ostracized by their peers in elementary school, middle school is when a child’s social development becomes more apparent.

At times, I'm happy your marriage is over. You weren’t getting along, and you told me things would be better this way. You said, We’ll have a happy divorce. But it doesn't feel very happy.

Even though Leah was the most popular girl in class, the other girls didn’t really like her. In fact, they were a little bit scared of getting on her bad side.

Another by-product of the unattended classroom is the friendship crisis a great many children suffer. While most children eagerly await recess and lunchtime as cherished opportunities for fun with playmates, there are some children who experience loneliness and rejection during these unstructured periods.

Children with experiential insatiability, are extremely hard to satisfy. School-related routines such as processing information and producing written work do not quell their appetites for intense experiences.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a common behavioral disorder that affects between 8-10% of school age children. Boys are three times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ADHD.

Social competence enables us to know what to say, how to make good choices, and how to behave in diverse situations. The extent to which children and adolescents possess good social skills, say experts, can heavily influence their academic performance, social and family relationships, and later, their success on the job.

Many people believe that practice and a positive role model will solve all social issues, but what they do not understand is that sometimes people simply lack social intelligence when it comes to finding favor with others.

Children are not given choices and thus cannot shield themselves from failure; we expect them to be competent, if not expert, in a whole array of school basics.

Many students adapt very well to school; they feel good about themselves and their school work. For others, however, school is threatening. Getting through an average school day for some children is fraught with anxiety-producing situations and painful moments.

If comparing bullying to bullfighting seems very harsh, ask a child who was bullied.

The disorder is far more disabling than people realize, and consumes untold hours and outputs of energy.

Although she is well-behaved and articulate in class discussions, on the playground she will frequently barge in on other children's play or conversations.

She was moody and remote, absorbed in her books. She did well in school with barely any effort but her social skills lagged far behind her academic achievement.

The key to knowing where to start is to understand the four levels of communication.

For most children, basic social skills (e.g. initiating conversation, working cooperatively, respecting boundaries, observing conventional rules of courtesy) are acquired naturally.

Chanie’s mother tried to salvage the situation by calling her daughter to the side and whispering a few succinct reproaches in her ear.