update

babyblue31

New Member
I'm glad to say today was all in all a good day. Altrought he had a tamrum at the durg store, Because I couldn't buy him a spongebob balloon.. And he tried to steal a ball.. Does anyone have any advice on dealing with that, with a child thats only 4.. We got another appointment with the thrispist in june hopefully, I can get him the medications he needs or I'm finding a new one.. I still haven't been able to find one for me that my insurence will pay for and thats close to home.. My boyfriends says hes going back to work next week, so we well beable to pay the rent.. I'm very happy about that.. He's been really adding to my stress and thats not good..
 

Andy

Active Member
Do you have your son ride the shopping cart? Even if he is too big for the kid seat, he can ride in the large part. I had my difficult child ride until he was about 7 years old because he was still small enough to. I told him to enjoy it while he could because when he got older he would be too big.

Then involve your son in the shopping. Tell him what the item is that you are looking for and have him help you find it. Talk to him about the size and color of the item. If it is in his reach, ask him to take it off the shelf. Then he is the guard of the shopping cart items.

While shopping, you can teach him letter recognition - choose one letter of the alphabet each day and he is to look for that letter while shopping. This works for color recognition also.

I also would say out loud, "We can't open this yet - it isn't ours until I pay for it" or "As soon as I buy this, we are going to open it." Your son is too young to realize that you need to pay for things. Hearing these statements will help him learn.

Do you go to garage sales? If you get anything for him, give him the money to pay for it. (this also works at other places). If he can pay for things, it will also help him learn that concept. Though be prepared that getting change back makes these young kids think that they are getting more money back than they gave. That lesson will come later.
 

Sara PA

New Member
Therapists are generally not medical doctors. Psychiatrists are medical doctors. In all but one or two states, therapists cannot prescribe medication, only medical doctors can do that.

Therapist generally use methods aimed at changing behavior which do not involve medication. Sometimes they work closely with a psychiatrist, exchanging information and opinions, who prescribes medication. But therapists themselves work with behavioral modification aspect of treatment.

Keep in mind that there are rarely magic pills that make everything ok. All the medications prescribed for behavioral disorders have potentially serious side effects, including worsening behavior. Often they work for the behaviors for which they are prescribed but they cause others, sometimes worse ones.

If indeed you son does have ADHD, you should know that medication is not the only treatment available. There are behavior modification methods of treatment which are what you and he might learn about from a therapist. (Naturally with a child that young, the parent would be a big part of any behavioral modification treatment plan.) Also, none of the drugs used to treat ADHD are approved for children under 6 years old. That doesn't mean that doctors don't prescribed them for children younger, just that the studies, including long term studies, haven't been done that show the drugs to be safe and effective.
 

Christy

New Member
Glad things are looking up some. I think drusgstores are the worst when it comes to the , "I WANT THAT!", problem. Even at age 9, my son is drawn to all the junk they sell there.

Before going into a store with my son, I talk about the things we are there to buy and what we won't be buying. Sometimes it helps to let him be in charge of choosing if possible. Like we are going to buy cereal, you choose what kind. Then he's excited about the cereal and feels like he is getting something from the store. If you are just picking up perscriptions, try the drive up window.

As for stealing the ball, he probably doesn't realize what stealing means, he just wanted to have it. Having a talk with him about what it means to buy something and showing him how to pay for something is a good idea.

Have a great weekend,
Christy
 
Top