As you all know, I’m hardly an expert on behavior. But I can speak for the facts, and those are that my kids really like each other. It’s not because my daughter sucks it up to hang out with my wacky boy, or vice versa. It’s because they truly respect each other as people.
I’ll take a little credit for that (since I can’t take credit for curing Tourette Syndrome) and go so far as to say that you have to show kids how to treat each other. This often means playing bad cop and not worrying that their self-esteem is going in the toilet because, God forbid, you make them clean the toilet.
I don’t know about you, but I think our culture does such a disservice to our kids. We try to do everything for them. We feel guilty if we can’t. Or we try and over compensate by spending our life savings and credit cards on extra curricular classes and “feel good” artificial experiences when really… really… what they need is to know that they are okay just because they are.
When I began to embrace this idea, I felt less worried about the TS.
While selfishly I hate the noises it brings, I welcome the invitation it offers me. Every tic seems to chirp, “Andrea, this is one more opportunity to live life on life’s terms. Since you can’t fix the kid, give up the idea that he is supposed to have a perfect life. Let him, not you, earn that confidence.”
Come back on Monday for my 10 ways to get your kid to work around the house. You won’t want to miss them!
0 Comments