I have a 6 yr old diagnosed wcf 1 yr ago. Recently she has been getiing in trouble at school, hitting other children etc. She has never acted up as much as she has been lately. In a way i think maybe shes having trouble coping with her lifes change. I feel like im punishing her for getting in trouble and hitting other kids and she turns around the next day and does it again. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am at wits end trying to figure out why shes acting out like this. Thanks!Posted by Jen R on March 03, 2003 at 17:27:55NOTE: this message has been transfered from the old CysticFibrosis.com forums.
My 6 yr old is having trouble coping
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Hi Jen - any changes in medication or dosage amounts? Has her teacher had any ideas or can anyone pin point the onset? Is she generally pleasant or more cranky in general? Any other behavioral changes other than the hitting? If not, I have a behavior modification method that we use that I can tell you about. It is called "Magic 1-2-3." Posted by Jo Ann on March 03, 2003 at 18:55:56NOTE: this message has been transfered from the old CysticFibrosis.com forums.
I myself don't have kids older than 2, but I do have a 6 yr old sister that is doing much the same. She does not have CF, but was getting very agressive. My mother had a long talk with her about what was going on and things have already gotten better. Maybe all you need to do is be straight forward with her and ask her why. Posted by Sharsti on March 03, 2003 at 18:10:54NOTE: this message has been transfered from the old CysticFibrosis.com forums.
I am only a mother (and not a professional in any way), but my guess is that your daughter is acting out against her disease. I don't know about her health befor her diagnoses, but it must have been quite a shock to suddenly (at the age of five) have to start dealing with doctors, enzymes, chest therapy treatments, and medicine treatments. I can't imagine how hard it must be for a 5 year old to suddenly have to cope with all the issues that come with CF. Children show stress in so many different way because they don't have the maturity and capacity to effectively communicate all that they feel. I have a 4 1/2 year old son (he will actually be 5 in May) who was diagnosed with CF at the age of 2. This year especially has been a very difficult one for him - he has had a lot of control issues. I think it is because he is finally realizing how different things are for him. He knows that his friends are outside playing when he is doing treatments and he knows no one else at his school needs enzymes before eating. Eventhough we don't treat him differently, he know that he is different from his sisters and even his friends. Recently he has been throwing a lot of tantrums (more than normal) and last week (after another tantrum over his percussions) he told my husband that he didn't like CF and wanted to know "why God made him with CF." My heart still aches when I think of it.What we have been doing for him is to sit down and talk with him as much as possible. (Your CF clinic should have some age appropriate books that you can read to your daughter. I also have found some books at the library and book stores about children being "special and different." I think it is healthy for them to know that there are others issues and things that make us different besides just CF.) When he is really having a hard time, we tell our son that there are a lot of hard things about CF, but there also are some good things - like eating as much ice cream, etc. as they want. We also tell him that he was born with CF and no one can change that. However he does have two choices as to how he deals with CF. He can either "not like his treatments" and be sad and make others sad. Or he can find a way to like his treatments (like watching his favorite videos or coloring) and be happy. (This helps a lot because at least he feels that he has a little choice in the matter.) Finally, we also try to make a point of sitting down with him during his treatments from time to time - even if he is perfectly happy watching his favorite Peter Pan video, it is always nice to have company and not feel all alone.A friend of mine suggested that maybe if my son could talk to someone with CF (or some other disease that requires the same amount of time and effort), he would not feel so alone. I know even if we lived in the same town, it is not healthy for two CF children to be together due to cross contamination. However, if your daughter wants an email pal - maybe we could help them "write" to each other. Our email is robertnkatrina@attbi.com. Also if I can help in any way, please feel free to email me yourself. As parents, we feel so much of their pain on so many different levels. I know that not only am I scared for his future and what might be, but I also am worried about the present - I want so badly to help Sean deal with his disease in a healthy, productive way and one day grow up to be a happy, well adjusted (and hopefully very old
person.Hope this helps. Hang in there.KatrinaP.S. To JoAnn - I also would love to hear about the magic 1-2-3
person.Hope this helps. Hang in there.KatrinaP.S. To JoAnn - I also would love to hear about the magic 1-2-3Jen,My 6yr. daughter is doing the same thing, but more at home than at school. She has just been diagnosed in Sept. 02. She hate being tied down to the vest therapy 2x/day, other medications, treatments and doctors. She has tantrums more too. She has expressed to me she doesn't understand why her and not her sister?... I tell her she is special. God chose her to be special and that she is here for a reason. I remind her that the doctors said she would not live one day, but God has given her 6 years. I try to do fun things with her exclusively. Especially right after school when we are home alone together, I will pay her alot of attention. We have alot of discussions. We keep it open communication. Kids her age understand more than we give them credit. I have even gotten books from the library to explain what is going on with her body and how her lungs aren't working just right. And lots of hugs help too. Hope this helps. Feel free to e-mail me at snrgrave@bellsouth.net
Jen,My 6yr. daughter is doing the same thing, but more at home than at school. She has just been diagnosed in Sept. 02. She hate being tied down to the vest therapy 2x/day, other medications, treatments and doctors. She has tantrums more too. She has expressed to me she doesn't understand why her and not her sister?... I tell her she is special. God chose her to be special and that she is here for a reason. I remind her that the doctors said she would not live one day, but God has given her 6 years. I try to do fun things with her exclusively. Especially right after school when we are home alone together, I will pay her alot of attention. We have alot of discussions. We keep it open communication. Kids her age understand more than we give them credit. I have even gotten books from the library to explain what is going on with her body and how her lungs aren't working just right. And lots of hugs help too. Hope this helps. Feel free to e-mail me at snrgrave@bellsouth.netSusan
Hi there my name is theresa my daughter also has cf she is 5. Nicole is her name. Nicole was diagnosed at 2 mos old with cf and even though she has had plenty of time to know what is going on and what she has to do she also acts up and hits people and kids in school. I always felt that it went with her age. But as it stands we have still not been able to calm her down even to teach her the things she needs to know about kindergarten and she will be starting that in september. Well I try to be very patient with her and to correct her i have had to get her full attention by having direct eye contact first. I dont like to smack her hand for something unless I have told her over and over and alot of times it seems she just doesnt get it even though she'd say ok mom. Her doctor suggested to have her tested for ADHD. I'm not saying you should do the same I'm only saying please have patience maybe he/she needs the direct eye contact. Please feel free to email me any time . Paul.mercy@verizon.net I hope I have helped in any way. Sincerely Theresa