Is It ODD or Ordinary?

Our children are targets.

Commercials target them for expensive toys and sugary cereals.

And all too often, psychologists and other “experts” target them for the disorder du jour.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Some children do have emotional or behavioral disorders that should be attended to — hopefully, however, not with drugs of commerce.

We know it is best to address both physical and emotional issues with our relatively safe, efficacious, polite homeopathic medicines. In fact, we’ve covered ADD before in a blog post, Attention Deficit Disorder and Homeopathy.

However, I’ve noticed quite a few questions on our forums regarding diagnoses of ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder) in children.

Let's begin here:  It’s practically a child’s full-time job to push the envelope and try your patience. That is ordinary.

But if your child is frequently angry, defiant and vindictive towards you or others in authority over them, they may end up being targeted by healthcare professionals as having ODD.

I’m going to be a bit controversial here (I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you), but back in my day, we didn’t have all these acronyms for child behavior. We just tossed them all under the umbrella labeled “poor parenting.”

But today, we live in a very permissive society.

Instead of explaining every little bit of our reasoning to a child, we used to tell them to “stop it” and put them in their room.

“Why, Mommy?”

“Because I said so.”

Full stop.

End of story. End of argument.

I have referred many mothers to the work of Dr. John Rosemond, a psychologist with old-fashioned thinking. His books are great, but if you’re too busy to read, he had quite a few YouTube videos you can peruse (instead of wasting time on Netflix).

You see, as Dr. Rosemond espouses, too much permissiveness — too much explaining — allows the child to see all the cracks he can weave his way through instead of understanding this is the way it’s going to be.

I did it myself! I was permissive with my first child. But by the time I had my second, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I straightened myself out!

What I was doing had never occurred to me as being permissive. It’s an easy thing to miss — especially if one lives in a community of other mothers who do the same thing.

With a nod to Dr. Laura Schlessinger, when behavioral problems arise, punish the child with something “swift, horrible and unexpected.”

Now, of course, I don’t mean something horrible to you; I’m not talking about beating them. I mean something horrible from the child’s perspective!

For instance, if your child loves their Legos, then take those Legos away. When they get older, it becomes no skiing, no slumber party, or no night out.

So, when they are throwing a tantrum, I urge you to act without warning.

Don’t say, “I’ve told you this before. You’d better stop or …”

No.

No.

No.

Just take the Legos away. End of discussion.

This is every bit as much about changing your behavior as it is about changing their behavior!

Trust me, removing something they adore is something they will never forget! It’s swift, horrible and unexpected.

But what if you and your spouse have already done all of that (and I mean REALLY done all of that), yet your child is still obstinate and oppositional? If you are positive the issue is not a result of parenting, then it’s time to call upon homeopathy for help:

Stramonium 6, twice a day until very much better

However, there is one huge caveat: Do not give this medicine “just because.”

Just because your child is acting out, they might not have an emotional pathology requiring a homeopathic medicine.

That’s where observant, intuitive and steadfast parenting comes in. As I used to say when I was raising my boys, “I’m not here to be their best friend. Right now, I’m here to be the SOB who keeps them on the straight and narrow. I’ll be their best friend later  in life— after I’ve raised them.”

But when you are positive there is an underlying behavioral disorder, Stramonium could be the answer.

It’s certainly a better answer than allowing the school psychologist to target them for synthetic medicines that might cause all manner of undesired side effects. Not to mention the invasion of your child's privacy.

In my course, Mindful Homeopathy: Practical Protocols for Mental and Emotional Conditions, I discuss other childhood psychological diagnoses — such as ADD and ADHD — along with the homeopathic medicines that address them.

This online course is packed with protocols I’ve used successfully for mental and emotional conditions through my years of personal and professional experience. Plus, we’ll go through specific case studies offered by students just like you.

There is a time (as I’ve discussed here today) when behavior modification is all that is needed. Still, there is most certainly a time for homeopathy when dealing with carefully diagnosed mental and emotional issues!

So, pass on the good news of homeopathy to other mothers and others! And consider forming a community of caring, strong-minded parents so you can support each other.

 

Warmly,

 

 

 

 

P.S. If you are curious about Mindful Homeopathy: Practical Protocols for Mental and Emotional Conditions, please click here to download my free infographic, “9 Mindful Homeopathic Protocols.” Then, simply follow the prompts if you want to learn more about the course.

And remember — all of my Mighties (Joette’s Mighty Members) qualify for a 10% discount on course purchases. If you need assistance getting your discount, email contact@practicalhomeopathy.com for more information.