How to raise an overactive child
Photo: iStockphoto
When Jennifer Weiss of Airdrie, Alta., put a dish of parsnips on the family dinner table for the first time, eight-year-old Mackenzie went from calmly chatting to a total meltdown. ?He was adamant, arms crossed, tears rolling down his face,? Weiss says. Mackenzie?s mood swings, she says, are typically intense: ?from happy as can be to a pile on the floor ? screaming that life is unfair and we hate him ? in seconds.?
Like 10 percent of all children, Mackenzie, a sweet, loving boy, is what is known as a ?spirited child.? These are the kids we refer to as ?challenging,? ?strong-willed? or worse ? traditionally they?ve been slapped with labels like ?difficult? or ?problem child.? Spirited children may be more intense, more persistent and more energetic than average. ?These kids live life bigger and bolder than other kids,? says Michael Popkin, author of Taming the Spirited Child. This can mean they?re enthusiastic and determined. But when they?re little, this temperament often translates into behaviour that?s frustrating for parents ? for example, a baby who screams when you don?t hold him, a toddler who never sits still, or a preschooler who falls to pieces because her sandwich was cut into triangles instead of diamonds. ?It?s natural for a parent to wonder: ?Did I do something to make him act that way"? But parents need to know it?s not their fault that their child is spirited,? says Sara King, a child psychologist at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. ...
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