Holiday Activities for Families – Share your ideas with us!
Posts tagged parenting
Your Violent ODD Child
Dec 30th
This article deals with addressing when is a good time to get the police involved in handling an oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) child’s violent outburst.
While involving the police doesn’t really help very much when you’re child is quite young, it does seem to have the desired effects when it comes to dealing with violent child behavior in older kids and teenagers.
A number of parents are hesitant in approaching the police and for a number of reasons. The main reason, though, remains to be the number of stories doing rounds about situations going out of hand when the police are involved, most of which are exaggerated or untrue anyway.
Some parents get the impression that their children could be unforgiving. Some are afraid of losing them, and some others think they might go away. A majority of the time, these fears are unjustifiable.
The police, on the whole, try and do their best in helping you, and spoiling the future of your child is not their aim.
The point being, at times it becomes necessary for a parent to involve the police in dealing with their ODD child and his violent child behavior.
This is how you should take it forward; if your ODD child is turning violent or abusive, if he is destroying any kind of property, and if you think you can no longer handle the situation; then the police should already be on the way, or called immediately.
This is where the situation is at a point where the child refuses to acknowledge the authority that his parents command. This is the point where involving the police can help because their voice will have to be heard.
Any form of abuse and destruction should not be let off easily. If a child indulges in violence and is not corrected in a timely manner, possibilities of him having a life linked to crime definitely increase.
Upon turning eighteen and becoming an adult legally, unlawful things that a person does can land him in serious trouble.
Parenting a violent child is tough. You should know that the authorities that get involved are not out for your child’s blood and actually try to help.
Besides trying to help your child, they also try and help you get in control again. They can also try and help financially, and help get all the support systems working.
But this changes when the child celebrates his eighteenth birthday. Why? Because the child then ceases to be a child and is tried through the penal system that serves adults.
This makes it important to try and seek help as early as possible, especially if your child is taking a turn for the worse, causing destruction, indulging in violent activities, or getting involved in uncompromising situations.
Help should be given long before your child’s eighteenth birthday.
The main reason behind this is that after that point, any unlawful activity can come with stern punishment. Once on this path, a lifelong battle with crime cannot be ruled out, especially if help doesn’t come in the formative years.
Often times, a run in with the police when your child is in his early teen years will be the only thing that will convince him to straighten out. And yes, in these cases, help can be the police.
In a number of scenarios, police involvement becomes necessary. The police, I’ll have you know, do try helping.
If you are wary that things might take an ugly turn and get out of your control… thinking about involving the police at an earlier stage (when the situation is still under control) is definitely recommended. This should be on your parenting agenda. Also, getting in touch with local juvenile organizations can also be very helpful.
If you think you might need police involvement, planning it in advance is always better than waiting for an ‘emergency’ situation to erupt. You can always try and foresee any violent child behavior and plan accordingly.
Also, if you’re raising an ODD child, trying to keep a check on the future is a good idea. Knowing what alternatives can be followed is also good.
Encouraging art and creativity in children
Dec 16th
Encourage creativity in your children by providing them with the time, resources, encouragement and the space for making art.Set aside interruption-free time for drawing, in a mess-proof zone – so that their creativity can run wild. Make sure you cover all surfaces so that any splashes of paint or scribbles of crayon are ‘caught’ – because nothing squishes creativity more so than a parent saying “Don’t make a mess” at regular intervals.
Choosing the right drawing materials is also very important. Many craft materials can be improvised (think of kitchen roll tubes, yogurt pots etc) but when drawing tools and paper are required, opt for a small selection of good quality age-appropriate products, rather than loads of inferior products. Always make sure that you check safety information and follow instructions. Young children should always be surpervised during arts and crafts activities because many necessary materials – such as crayons – pose a choking hazard.
Surroundings:As with writing or working at a computer, good posture and a comfortable position are important for drawing. A child sized table and chair is actually preferable to an easel. If the chair is a little high, provide a phone book as a footrest. An inexpensive plastic chair set in front of a coffee table works well. A small kitchen storage trolley is ideal for containing supplies, or if space does not permit, a portable tackle box is a good option too. Messy toddlers may need a drop-cloth and supervision to avoid ink-stained walls, as even ‘washable’ pens often don’t deliver on that promise!
Art Materials:Avoid cheap markers, too-hard pencils and thin paints – these types of materials are discouraging to the child and therefore a waste of money. Provide many sheets of plain blank paper to inspire their creativity and occasionally invest in a canvas so that your child can paint something and chances are you’ll want to hang it on your wall! Provide also coloring books or coloring pages which are bountiful online – coloring pages are not so great for creativity, however they do provide children with the chance to practice their fine motor skills and sometimes it’s very relaxing and just what they need. They can simply color in without feeling the ‘pressure’ about WHAT to draw. Little boys typically enjoy coloring pictures of cars and trucks while little girls usually enjoy colouring images of princesses and fairies - however you can’t go wrong with Disney characters and at sites like Disney Coloring Pages you’ll find the best Disney coloring.
When it comes to drawing and coloring, at each age/stage of your child’s life provide….
Toddlers:
- Child-safe markers and wipe-off boards
- Chalk boards and safe chalk
- Plain paper and coloring pages
Juniors:
- Sketchbook
- Student colored pencils
- Washable Markers
- Oil pastels
- Plain paper and coloring pages
Middle School:
- Sketchbook or scrapbook
- Graphite Pencils
- Watercolor sketch paper
- Watercolor pencils
- Marker pens, marker paper
- Plain paper and coloring pages
High School
- Sketchbook or scrapbook
- Quality drawing papers and boards
- Graphite Pencils
- Artists’ quality colored pencils
- Illustration markers, marker paper
- Pastel paper and hard pastels if liked
- Plain paper and canvases to work on
All ages:
- Safe sharpeners, erasers, dusters, stencils and rulers
- A folder for storing large pieces
- Storage boxes for smaller pieces
- Consider photographing or scanning pieces for a permanent record.
