Behaviors That Children Exhibit
There are many behaviors that children may exhibit that are unacceptable to their parents. Most of the patterns begin well before the age of two. The transition from the egocentricity of twelve months to the realization at twenty-four months that you are not the center of the universe is very upsetting. Most children have periods when they are frustrated and try to establish boundaries for themselves whereby they control something in their world. These behaviors may start with verbal attempts to establish a sense of self by shouting "no" or "mine", and progress to physical attempts such as hitting, biting, hair pulling, kicking, pinching and the like. These behaviors are normal but unacceptable.
For ninety-five percent of children, patient, loving discipline (from the root word to teach, not to punish) is very effective. For the remainder, the behaviors may be the early signs of Oppositional Defiant Disorder or Conduct Disorder or Attention Deficit Disorder or some combination of two or three of them.
For parents who are having trouble with these behaviors we have selected the following link to an article by Dr. James Chandler to help explain the current definitions of the problems and to help begin to intervene. If your child is behaving in a manner that has prompted concern, please read through Dr. Chandler's remarks and then make an appointment with us to discuss the problem.
http://www.klis.com/chandler/pamphlet/oddcd/oddcdpamphlet.htm#about
