WT 358: Help! What Do I Do About My "Wild" Child?
Do you have a child who is full of energy and constantly testing your limits? Then pop in those earbuds! Today Karen is tackling listener questions about raising a 'wild' child. She offers advice on effective discipline, seeing their strengths, and managing their over-the-top energy. Whether you have boys or girls, toddlers or elementary-age kids, this episode is a must-listen!"
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Question 1: I am mom to 2 “wild” kiddos, ages 6 and 3 and I just need to know… does it get easier?! Do they grow up to be good kids/adults? I look around at other calmer, more well-behaved children, and I feel like a complete failure as a mom.
These kiddos both have the biggest personalities, they've never met a stranger, and they have always been incredibly social. They're both very energized in social settings, and I feel like many of their peers are much more mild-mannered than my kids.
My friends' kids are more shy in social settings, whereas my kiddos aim to entertain everyone as much as possible (usually by wearing me out in the process!). It's frustrating to see other kids who maybe just "appear " to be more behaved since they aren't as social or are more drained by social settings rather than energized like mine. Will there eventually be some good that comes from raising the "wild" ones?? Right now, it's exhausting and embarrassing!!
Question 2: I’m looking for some advice for finding my child's "currency." I swear my 3-year-old middle daughter isn't fazed by ANYTHING!!! You name it, we've tried it (yes, consistently). Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING has worked.
We could take every single toy/fun thing away from her, and I swear she'd say "oh well, I didn't need any of that anyways," and just go on about her day. I'm hopeful it's just a phase, but I'm terrified of having one of those "if you don't get control of them now, you never will" scenarios you always hear about.
We are Christians, go to church and Bible study regularly, and definitely incorporate our faith into our daily lives, so it's not like we're just going rogue on our parenting apart from God. I've also prayed over and over for this girl, but she's killing me! I'm at my wit's end with her. She's very smart, and no I don't think she has any type of disorder, she's just VERY strong-willed (so is my oldest son, so I was hoping/praying things would be different with a daughter, but alas....)
Question 3: I am a mom of 3 boys and my littlest is completely different. He has no boundaries when he wants what he wants. He’s high energy and can outlast the rest of us most of the time. I am torn between stopping my life with my older boys so I can keep him at home (aka not having to deal with his shenanigans in public) and expending all the energy it takes to deal with him in public. Please help….
Question 4: We are trying to make family devotional time a priority. We have a 3.5 year old girl and an almost 8 year old girl. What does family devotion times look like with different ages of children? The 3 year old is wild ! Do you have any recommended devotionals that keep a 3 year old engaged. We have several devotionals for our 8 year old that we have done with her one on one.. and we have the storybook bible. I just wanted something that we could do as a family and have prayer together before bed. Thanks for any suggestions!
Question 5: My 8 year old son is a strong red.
We are having the HARDEST time getting through to him when he’s upset. He not only goes from 0-60 when he’s mad, he also goes straight to harsh words and mean comments. He says “no.” “Nope.” Not listening.” “Don’t care.” When we try to gently parent and have conversations with him, he’ll tap or drum on things and tune us out or build things and ignore us. Talking gets us nowhere.
We’ve been struggling for the last year with communicating with him when there are conflicts between him and his sister or just conflicts as a family. I pray like crazy, listen/ read gentle parenting books and podcasts, and go to counseling myself to be a better mama and wife. (I’m a heavy blue by the way).
For someone like him (artistic, drummer, very red) like I described, would art therapy or some type of play therapy be good? I just need some advice. He can’t just sit still on a couch and talk about feelings. That’s not him.
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