Behavorial Problems Require a Certain Amount of Tolerance

In a world where childrens' behavioral problems are at an all time high, teaching tolerance in the home, at school, and church is more important than ever. While some people don't believe wholely in the various disorders that psychiatrists claim, the fact remains that behavioral problems cannot be denied. Neither can they be ignored.

Contrary to popular belief, behavioial issues exist in varying degrees across all educational, racial, and class boundaries. They are not the sole responsibility of spoiled, rich children.

It is important to recognize; however, that boys have a tendency to exhibit more of these types of problems, at a ratio of about three to one. Still, girls are not exempt in any way.

While it is common for children with learning disabilities to exhibit some kind of behavioral problem, they are by no means alone. Children with unhappy family lives and those trying to operate within a vacuum of stress often exhibit inappropriate behavior. In truth, any child, given the right conditions, could act out in ways that might be considered a part of such a broad category.

Whatever the ultimate cause, behavioral issues can create havoc in school, in public situations and at home as well. They may result in a need to change the normal structure under which a classroom or Sunday school operates.

Teachers, who are already stretched to their limits with the sheer number of students over which they have charge, are forced to focus extra time on problem students. That means taking time away from the majority of the class in order to tend to a few. While most good teachers look at this as a challenge to conquer, a few try to ignore it and others throw their hands up in utter desperation.

Teachers are by no means the only ones affected by a child's behavioral problems. Other students are often at at loss as to how to treat their troublemaking peers. Consequently, they may choose to ignore them or worse yet make them the butt of jokes.

That, of course, only escalates the problem leading to low expectations for those students or getting them excessively punished for things they may not be able to control. The end result is a sad, lonely, improperly educated child with low self-esteem.

A debate rages about how behavioral issues should be handled. There is a good reason for that. In truth, there is no single definitive answer. Different disorders need to be approached in different ways; something that a normal classroom is ill equipped to handle.

However, ignoring behaviorally challenged children is not an acceptable alternative. They could end up unprepared to meet academic standards, to handle interpersonal communications and to deal with life as whole. That, in turn, seems to make their life options somewhat limited.

An alarming trend sees children being drugged with medications like Ritalin, Strattera, Adderall and Concerta. While those may help in classroom situations, ultimately they may or may not help the child.

According to reports from several news sites, including CBS News, nearly 20% of drug spending each year leads to behavioral medications. Those numbers continue to rise every year. Unfortunately, a lot of that is because schools demand that children be medicated as a privilege of school attendance.

That raises an important issue. To whom should the teaching of tolerance be focused? Obviously, it has to begin at home. Parents must understand what causes their children to act inappropriately and then willingly seek training in mechanisms that can help bring their child's behavior back into line.

Unfortunately, many parents refuse to accept that a problem exists. That, in turn, means they aren't looking for a means to solve them. Others declare they are too busy to deal with things that should best be handled elsewhere. They throw up their hands in frustration and simply let the problem escalte further.

Many church schools and even some of the larger churches have decided to address at least the tolerance aspect of behavioral issues. That may well be because they often view children from a totally different perspective. They tend to look at children individually rather than as a group.

They provide special training for their teachers, youth ministers and staff to give them the skills needed to handle children with behavioral problems. Most of all, they teach tolerance and understanding of what causes such issues in the first place. Consequently, they may have stumbled upon the correct approach -- tolerance, acceptance and solution development.

Unfortunately, many school divisions flatly refuse to deal with behavioral problems. Their solution is to demand that students be drugged. But not all are making the same mistake. Some schools are beginning to face it head on.

Some teachers even go so far as to request specific training to handle behavioral issues. Those who are so trained then often agree to teach special classes of behaviorally challenged students. Unfortunately, in some cases, it is the parents who call a halt to that. They do not want what they consider to be a "stigma" attached to their children and end up demanding they be mainstreamed.

While there may be no short and quick answer to this ever-growing issue, one thing is certain. Behavioral problems aren't likely to disappear overnight. At some point, everyone involved in the lives of such challenged children will be forced to seek the answers they need. Let's hope that happens before it is too late to ensure that every child has an opportunity for a happy, healthy, and successful life.