Welcome to our dynamic series on Parenting Tips for Teenagers.
Clearly, this series is
crafted for those who
- have teenagers,
- who are on the verge of having teenagers,
- who are dealing with grown children who can't shake off their teenage habits,
- who are in a relationship with someone stuck in their teenage
years,
- who interact with teens at work,
- or have teenage relatives.
In short, if teenagers feature anywhere in your world,
you're in the right place!
One Approach to a Teen with ODD
Today we’re talking about a child with ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder) who defies all attempts at LovingandTeaching. This can be an impossibly
difficult pattern of behavior, and today we’ll talk about ONE approach of many that are possible.
Meet Marcus, who entirely rejected anything Mom tried to teach, and if he didn’t get what he wanted, he pitched a fit worthy of a two-year-old. He refused to do his homework, teased his sister, and disrupted every activity in the home. Mom consistently lovedandtaught. But no positive response.
She imposed consequences for his unacceptable behaviors, and he responded by screaming and punching the walls. Oddly, he enjoyed his mother loving him—touching, kissing, things which never occurred at his father’s house—but he defied all her attempts at teaching.
I spoke with his mother, Sybil, on many occasions, suggesting modifications to her lovingandteaching, but nothing succeeded. Marcus would behave better on occasion, but his
lapses into insane and violent defiance became the norm. This persisted over a period of many months.
Finally, Sybil told me she couldn’t take
it anymore. She couldn’t sleep, her work was suffering, and Marcus’s younger sister was beginning to have trouble with sleep, schoolwork, and behavior.
Marcus
was overwhelming and disturbing the entire family with his defiance, selfishness, and more—mostly learned from his father—now divorced from Marcus’s mother and living in his own place.
Mom was at her wits’ end and wanted to know what she could do.
Continue to read
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