In Heather Forbes’ latest e-newsletter, she answers addresses the following issue from a reader:
“My son is an angel at school but a terror at home. He was even student of the month last school year. But when he gets home, our home is absolute chaos and he is just nasty to me.“
BE struggles at school just as much as she does at home, but Heather’s advice still applies. Here’s an abridged version of her response:
“Many children work to be ‘normal’ all day long at school so when they get home, they are exhausted. The result is they collapse into negative behaviors. When they are stressed at school, they hold it together all day long and then in their ‘unwinding’ of the day, they become ‘terrors.'”
She suggests looking for ways to reduce stress in the following areas:
- Social stress
- Transitioning from one activity to another
- After school care
- Teachers
- Riding the school bus
- Stress-inducing requirements
For Heather’s complete response, or to sign up for the newsletter, visit her Web site.
Shannon Mackie 