Book Description
We've all seen them: children who explode when they're
told to do something or when things don't go their way. The
ones who completely lose control and become verbally and
physically aggressive. Spoiled, stubborn, manipulative
children. Right?
Not so fast. These labels suggest that the behavior if
such children is planned and intentional, and popular
reward-and-punishment strategies are typically used to teach
and motivate them to behave more appropriately. But for a
significant number of these children, the standard approach
doesn't always work. Such children are easily frustrated and
extremely inflexible. They get "stuck" over
seemingly simple requests, benign issues, and sudden changes
in plans. They may be very anxious, irritable, and volatile.
They may have difficulty telling you what they're frustrated
about or thinking through potential solutions to problems. In
clinical terms, they may be diagnosed with any of a variety
of psychiatric disorders, including oppositional-defiant
disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),
Tourette's disorder, depression, and bipolar disorder. If
this sounds like your child, you're probably feeling
frustrated, overwhelmed, guilt-ridden, exhausted, and
hopeless.
Now there is a new way for you, your child, and your
entire family to find help. In this groundbreaking new book,
Dr. Ross Greene, a child psychologist at Massachusetts
General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, makes a
compassionate argument that the difficulties of these
children stem from developmental deficits in two critical
skills: flexibility and frustration tolerance. He asserts
that if such children could do well, they would.
Drawing upon recent advances in the neuroscience, Dr.
Greene describes the factor that contribute to
"inflexible-explosive" behavior in children and why
the strategies that work for most children aren't as
effective for inflexible-explosive children. Then, with the
help of "snapshots" from the lives of children,
parents, and teachers with whom he has worked over the years,
Dr. Greene lays out a sensitive, practical, effective,
systematic approach to helping these children at home and
school, including:
reducing hostility and antagonism between the child and
adult
anticipating situations in which the child is most likely
to explode
creating an environment in which explosions are less
likely to occur
focusing less on reward and punishment and more on
communication and collaborative problem-solving
helping the child develop the self-regulation and thinking
skills to be more flexible and handle frustration more
adaptively
In Explosive Child, you'll find ways to regain your
sanity and optimism and rebuild the confidence to handle your
child's difficulties completely and lovingly. With Dr.
Greene's compassionate, expert advice and insight, you and
your child will rediscover newfound hope and a relationship
you can both feel good about.
