Anger Management

My favorite website for parenting help is Empowering Parents. It is an amazing gift to parents struggling with various issues from minor to major. The 13-year-old in the house has turned out to be a kid who lashes out at school when she feels put upon. This is new for us. This week, I got a call from the Assistant Principal for 7th grade informing me that the art teacher sent her to the office for pouring a bin of water on a boy and his artwork and bopping him on the head with a book. Her side of the story: the boy has been telling her "You're crazy" and "You're insane" and "Get away from my table" whenever she approaches his table to talk to a friend. I am sure there is more to this story. She has had her issues for the past year or two, very angry about her epilepsy, and not tolerant of teasing at all. She will be going to detention tomorrow and accepts her responsibility for what she did. She tried to get the boy to admit his part but he would not. I called the AP after school and mentioned that there may be a few students willing to testify that they heard the name-calling. The AP was quite nice and invited her to come in and fill out a report and list the names of people who may have heard it. She has taken care of that and we will await equal justice.

Here is one of the great articles on the EP website: http://www.empoweringparents.com/A-Day-in-the-Mind-of-Your-Defiant-Child.php.