Not Bad Parenting - Medical Causes of Behavior
Some Conditions that Affect Children's Behavior
Sep 24, 2008
Brats! Misbehaving children are everywhere. It is commonly believed that humans control their behavior - children who misbehave choose to do so - and that good parents can/should control their children’s behavior.
Bad behavior from children must equal bad parenting, or, thus goes the logic. While that may often be the case, many times there is much more going on than meets the eye, such as ADHD or other medical conditions.
Before judging the child who is throwing a fit in the grocery store - and his parents as well - people should consider that perhaps there is a medical reason for the child’s actions, that perhaps the child isn’t a brat with bad parents.
Medical Conditions Can Cause Bad Behavior
If an adult in the grocery store fell to the floor and began thrashing about, people would assume something was medically wrong with him - like a neurological problem. They would dial 911. If a child does it, nearly everyone assumes the child is a brat and his parents are deplorable.
Bad behavior in children normally doesn't prompt people to dial 911. Instead, it prompts them to talk about the child's “horrible” parents, and what should be done to the child. Most people don’t consider that perhaps that child also has something medically wrong with him, like a neurological problem such as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often causes problems in several brain systems, including an imbalance of neurotransmitters, the chemicals that affect behavior. Neurotransmitter imbalance can make a child stubborn, unable to change his focus (he still wants that toy), and very emotional.
Other Medical Conditions That Can Affect Behavior
Children are victims of numerous physical, neurological and psychiatric conditions that affect their behavior. Any one of several conditions could be the cause of little Hector’s behavior, and none of them has anything to do with parenting.
The following are just some of the conditions, and just some of the ways those things can affect behavior. All of them have increased greatly in children in recent years, and many children who have ADHD also have one or more of these conditions:
- Diabetes
- Bipolar Disorder
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Sleep Disorders
- Allergies or Sensitivities
How Can a Medical Problem Cause Bad Behavior in Children?
Diabetes:
- blood sugar fluctuations
- feeling very hungry or thirsty can cause a child not to listen and can make a child spacey, cranky, irritable, or prone to outbursts.
Bipolar Disorder: rapid cycling in children creates mood shifts and uncontrollable rages.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: problems in the limbic system of the brain lead to obsessions and compulsions, which can create very annoying behavior that is difficult or impossible to stop.
Sleep disorders: a chronic lack of good sleep leads to bouts of crankiness, uncooperativeness, and moodiness.
Allergies or Sensitivities: reactions can cause all kinds of unpredictable behavior, especially in those who have unidentified allergies and sensitivities. Many ingredients that cause reactions are hidden under many names, such as this list of names for dairy.
Many things cause bad behavior in children - bad parenting that creates brats is only one cause in a long list. Bad parenting definitely does exist, but in many cases, it's not bad parenting, it's ADHD or another medical problem. Acting from that perspective and offering help - even if only in the form of a sympathetic smile - is far better than assuming the problem is caused by a brat who has bad parents.
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