My Life as a Mom

Feel free to contact me: shirleykeeldar@poetic.com

With 6 happy kids, life can be really fun around here! This blog is dedicated to the joys and sometimes chaos of having a large family. Okay, so it's always chaos around here, but fortunately, it's almost always fun, too!

Thursday, August 19, 2004

One of my sons has much more energy than the other kids. I have always known that if he were in public school, no doubt he'd be labeled as diseased "Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder" (ADHD) or some such nonsense.

Basically, it's just that he has a lot of power, and since he's still a kid, he needs a lot of help channeling that area. When he's grown up, he'll probably be a "high-powered" businessman. (Notice that term? It describes so-called "ADHD" kids so well!)

Well, I found one way to really help him is to find complex things for him to work on. (He's also extremely bright, as most "ADHD" labeled kids are.)

So I give my son lots of challenges. He thrives on them.

I'll get him to time himself doing 40 sit-ups. Then on his own, he'll work on it - every day - to get better and better.

I'll give him paper, cardboard, glue, markers, and string, and he'll make something wonderful out of it, like a race track for his little brother's cars.

Without challenges, he FINDS them, and it's when kids create challenges that adults seem to panic. "What are you doing up on the roof?" The kid answers, "I'm going to drop this water balloon and see how far the water splatters."

These are the "precocious" kids who get drugged, when really, all they need are challenges.

Children - How to Raise Them and Give Them Hope for the Future