|
Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsHealth Tip: Preparing Your Child For Sleepaway CampTips for Keeping Your Child Healthy at CampA Simple Way to Help Prevent Child ObesityType 1 Diabetes Might Affect Young Kids' Brain DevelopmentHow to Put Limits on Your Family's Screen TimeChickenpox Vaccine Shields Kids From Shingles, TooWhooping Cough Vaccine Effectiveness Fades With Time: StudyHundreds of Young Kids Drown in Pools Each Year -- Keep Yours SafeWhich Dogs Are More Likely to Bite Your Kids?Health Tip: Preventing Swimmer's EarAHA News: With Summer Vacation Here, How Much Screen Time Is Too Much?Health Tip: Prevent BullyingHealth Tip: Avoid Mouth Injuries in ChildrenKids Still Being Poisoned by Detergent PodsViolent Video Games, Unlocked Guns a Dangerous Combo for KidsWhy Some Kids With Eczema Are at Higher Allergy Risk'Controlled Burns' Better for Kids' Health Than Wildfires: StudyHow Kids Benefit From Doing ChoresAHA News: Report Seeks Answers About Mysterious, Dangerous Heart Disease in KidsKids of Opioid-Using Parents May Be More Likely to Attempt SuicideCholesterol Levels Improving Among U.S. KidsEarlier Bedtimes Help Kids Fight Obesity1 in 5 Kids Don't Strap on Helmets Before BikingParents, Here's How to Protect Your Child During Measles OutbreaksMore Than 600,000 Opioid Abusers Raising Kids in U.S.2 of 3 Parents Read Texts While DrivingFear of Dentist May Start Early for Minority Kids -- With Good ReasonMilitary Tourniquets Might Save Kids' Lives During School ShootingsE-Cigarettes Used in 5% of U.S. Homes With KidsMany Kids With Chronic Illness Are Still Happy: StudyDiet Sodas May Not Help Kids Cut CaloriesAsthma Inhalers Incorrectly Used by Most Kids in StudyNewer Diabetes Drug Shows Promise in Kids, TeensBenlysta Approved for Children With LupusParents, Protect Your Kids as Measles Outbreaks SpreadHow Much Does Your Kid Weigh? Chances Are, You're UnderestimatingFor Kids, Obesity and Mental Health Woes Often Go Hand-in-HandWhy Kids Should Play More Than One SportBetter Food Assistance Programs Might Lower Childhood Obesity RatesMany U.S. Kids Don't Drink Enough Water, and Obesity May Be the ResultStrict Blood Pressure Limits for Kids Tied to Heart Health LaterAlmost Half of Young Asthma Patients Misuse InhalersCan Games and Apps Help Your Kids Learn?Kids Can Get UTIs, TooInactive Lifestyle Begins as Early as Age 7: StudyWhy the HPV Vaccine Is More Important Than EverMore Time Spent in Sports, Faster Healing From ConcussionHow to Cut Your Kids' Sugar IntakeLiving Near Major Roads Can Slow Kids' Development: StudySuicidal Behavior Nearly Doubles Among U.S. Kids Questions and AnswersVideosLinksBook Reviews100 Things Guys Need to Know3 NBS of Julian DrewA Guide to Asperger SyndromeA Tribe ApartA User Guide to the GF/CF Diet for Autism, Asperger Syndrome and AD/HDA Walk in the Rain With a BrainAdolescence and Body ImageAdolescent DepressionAfterAggression and Antisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsAll Alone in the UniverseAmelia RulesAmericaAnother PlanetAntisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsArtemis FowlAssessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, Second EditionAutistic Spectrum DisordersBad GirlBetween Two WorldsBeyond AppearanceBeyond Diversity DayBig Mouth & Ugly GirlBill HensonBipolar DisordersBody Image, Eating Disorders, and ObesityBody Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in YouthBoyBoysBrandedBreaking PointBreathing UnderwaterBringing Up ParentsBullying and TeasingCan't Eat, Won't EatCatalystChild and Adolescent Psychological DisordersChildren Changed by TraumaChildren with Emerald EyesChildren’s Dreaming and the Development of Consciousness City of OneConcise Guide to Child and Adolescent PsychiatryConquering the Beast WithinContentious IssuesCrackedCutDancing in My NuddypantsDemystifying the Autistic ExperienceDescartes' BabyDilemmas of DesireDirtyDoing ItDoing SchoolDying to Be ThinEating an ArtichokeEducating Children With AutismElijah's CupEllison the ElephantEmerald City BluesEmotional and Behavioral Problems of Young ChildrenEvery Girl Tells a StoryFast GirlsFeather BoyFiregirlForever YoungFreaks, Geeks and Asperger SyndromeFreewillGeography ClubGeorgia Under WaterGirl in the MirrorGirlfightingGirlsourceGirlWiseGLBTQGood GirlsGoodbye RuneGranny Torrelli Makes SoupGrowing Up GirlHandbook for BoysHealing ADDHeartbeatHelping Children Cope With Disasters and TerrorismHelping Parents, Youth, and Teachers Understand Medications for Behavioral and Emotional ProblemsHollow KidsHow Children Learn the Meanings of WordsHow to Keep Your Teenager Out of Trouble and What to Do If You Can'tHug MeIntrusive ParentingIt's Me!It's Perfectly NormalJake RileyJoey Pigza Swallowed the KeyJuvenile-Onset SchizophreniaKeeping the MoonKilling MonstersKim: Empty InsideKnocked Out by My Nunga-NungasLaura Numeroff's 10-Step Guide to Living with Your MonsterLearning About School ViolenceLeo the Lightning BugLet Kids Be KidsLiberation's ChildrenLife As We Know ItLisa, Bright and DarkLittle ChicagoLord of the FliesLoserLove and SexLove That DogManicMastering Anger and AggressionMind FieldsMiss American PieMom, Dad, I'm Gay.MonsterMore Than a LabelMyths of ChildhoodNew Hope for Children and Teens with Bipolar DisorderNo Two AlikeNot Much Just Chillin'Odd Girl OutOdd Girl Speaks OutOn the Frontier of AdulthoodOne Hot SecondOne in ThirteenOphelia SpeaksOphelia's MomOur Journey Through High Functioning Autism and Asperger SyndromeOut of the DustOvercoming School AnxietyParenting and the Child's WorldParenting Your Out-Of-Control TeenagerPediatric PsychopharmacologyPeriod PiecesPhobic and Anxiety Disorders in Children and AdolescentsPINSPraising Boys WellPraising Girls WellPretty in PunkPrincess in the SpotlightProblem Child or Quirky Kid?Psychotherapy As PraxisPsychotherapy for Children and AdolescentsRaising a Self-StarterRaising BlazeRaising Resilient ChildrenReclaiming Our ChildrenRedressing the EmperorReducing Adolescent RiskRethinking ADHDReweaving the Autistic TapestryRineke DijkstraRitalin is Not the Answer Action GuideRunning on RitalinSay YesSexual Teens, Sexual MediaSexuality in AdolescenceShooterShort PeopleShould I Medicate My Child?Skin GameSmackSmashedStaying Connected to Your TeenagerStick FigureStoner & SpazStop Arguing with Your KidsStraight Talk about Your Child's Mental HealthStrong, Smart, & BoldStudent DepressionSurvival Strategies for Parenting Children with Bipolar DisorderSurviving OpheliaTaking Charge of ADHD, Revised EditionTaming the Troublesome ChildTargeting AutismTeaching Problems and the Problems of TeachingTeen Angst? NaaahThat SummerThe American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook Of Child And Adolescent PsychiatryThe Arctic IncidentThe Bipolar ChildThe Buffalo TreeThe Bully, the Bullied, and the BystanderThe Carnivorous CarnivalThe Depressed ChildThe Developing MindThe Dragons of AutismThe Dream BearerThe Dulcimer Boy The Einstein SyndromeThe EpidemicThe Eternity CubeThe Explosive ChildThe Field of the DogsThe First IdeaThe Identity TrapThe Inside Story on Teen GirlsThe Little TernThe Mean Girl MotiveThe Men They Will BecomeThe Myth of LazinessThe New Gay TeenagerThe Notebook GirlsThe Nurture AssumptionThe Opposite of InvisibleThe Order of the Poison OakThe Other ParentThe Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday LifeThe Real Truth About Teens and SexThe Rise and Fall of the American TeenagerThe Secret Lives of GirlsThe Sex Lives of TeenagersThe Shared HeartThe Spider and the BeeThe StepsThe Thought that CountsThe Unhappy ChildThe Vile VillageThe Whole ChildThen Again, Maybe I Won'tTherapy with ChildrenThings I Have to Tell YouTouching Spirit BearTrauma in the Lives of ChildrenTreacherous LoveTrue BelieverTwistedUnhappy TeenagersWay to Be!We're Not MonstersWhat about the KidsWhat Would Joey Do?What's Happening to My Body? Book for BoysWhat's Happening to My Body? Book for GirlsWhen Nothing Matters AnymoreWhen Sex Goes to SchoolWhen Your Child Has an Eating DisorderWhere The Kissing Never StopsWhose America?Why Are You So Sad?WinnicottWorried All the TimeYes, Your Teen Is Crazy!You Hear MeYoung People and Mental HealthYour Child, Bully or Victim? |
| |
by Rita Sommers-Flanagan and John Sommers-Flanagan Free Spirit Publishing, 2002 Review by Lizzie Perring, Dip Mus., Cert Ed., MA, Dip Counselling and Psychotherapy on Jan 6th 2004 
In this book, the wife and husband co-authors, Rita and John
Sommers-Flannagan, have promised to "Help Kids Who Don't Fit In, Can't
Fit In, Can't Get Along, Are Too Fearful, Sad, Anxious, or Angry, And
More..." Working in the field
of Special Educational Needs myself, I hoped that this book support parents in
talking down so-called Special Needs, by see behavior in context and by
reasoning how behavior and thinking develops.
Hence the title "Problem Child or Quirky Kid."
Plunging in I
found that, using the royal "We," Rita and John proffered answers to
many troubling scenarios, case studies, and questions, resourced from their
professional experiences. The book has
many helpful and positive messages. Its
exploration of "What's Normal" felt a bit worrying at first, but the
authors' offer close referencing to child development and the anomalies of age
and context, soothing my concerns initially.
However, an anxious parent may well find that this book compounds
anxiety rather than alleviating it. It
has promised to talk down difference or at the very least, reason with it. I have the impression that many parents of
troubling children get trapped into heat-seeking. By this, I mean that they may rapaciously devour the sorts of
checklists, criteria and potential diagnoses proffered by Rita and John in this
book, in their desperate struggle to explain their child's behavior, rather
than anything else. Many such parents
get locked into desperate searches for professional help and access to
specialized services to support their child at any cost. This book is not calm enough to allay such
desperation. It does not deconstruct
the myths it promised to engage with.
It masquerades as down to earth and common sense.
What would I like
to them to do differently? Well, I'd
like the authors to grapple in the first place with the Nature/Nurture debate,
thereby helping parents to consider the huge significance of their role in
their child's behavior. Attachment
Theory could be alluded to in order to support this. Then there are Howard Gardner's theories of Multiple
Intelligences and the whole filed of Emotional Literacy. All these offer strongly referenced and
authoritative voices to empower parents to understand their offspring.
In their chapter "Problems with Attention, Hyperactivity and
Impulsivity," the authors offer a plethora of diagnostic materials before
offering any reassurance. The assertion
that these behaviors aren't a concern if they are not "interfering with
basic areas of ... life such as school" is tucked away underneath a
set of criteria that will enable any worried parent to make their own
un-professional judgment on the child's difficulties. I want this message emblazoned everywhere. It's surely the core message that all
responsible professionals should be delivering to parents. If the "Quirky Kid" is getting on
with life in their own idiosyncratic way and feels successful and reasonably
happy, why stir up parental anxiety? Being a parent is troubling enough as it
is.
It is things like that in the sequencing of the book that I find
troubling. My most radical response
would see this book re-edited and all anxiety-building materials stripped
out. For instance, I do not like to
hear children categorized as "Resistant, Anxious, or Sad",
because that is never all they are. "What
else are they?" I would
like to ask. I also feel that in any
book about children I want to hear children's voices and views
represented. Just in case that's not
enough, I find the literary quotes heading each chapter are the indulgence of
adults and distracting.
What I want in a book like this is more about communicating and relating
to children. More about adult anxiety
and how this affects children. I want
to commission a companion book from children, entitled Problem Parents of
Quirky Adults, because I have feeling that it's not fair to have one
without the other.
© 2004 Lizzie Perring
Lizzie Perring, Dip Mus., Cert Ed., MA, Dip
Counselling and Psychotherapy, lives in Coventry, UK. She writes about herself:
I am a mother and grandmother with long career in
the field of Special Educational Needs.
I have specialized in supporting children with emotional and behavioral
difficulties and their families. I
haven't forgotten my own experience of emotional and behavioral needs as a
child. I am a firm advocate for
Children's Rights and for Children's and Young People's Participation.
|
