Dr LeCrone
05-21-2006, 09:58 PM
Jim and Mary just suspected they had a family problem when 8-year-old Johnny brought some notes from his teacher about his declining grades and poor school performance.
Angry at first, then puzzled, they searched for clues to his changed school attitude.
Johnny had always been a good student. He made A’s, B’s and occasionally a C. He seemed to like school; he approached each day with enthusiasm and interest. Previous school conferences had always been pleasant experiences. When had al this changed?
• As many thoughts crossed their minds, they first considered the possibility of a visual problem. But after a visit to the doctor for an eye examination, nothing of significance was found.
• Rationalizing that everyone gets a bad teacher at some point, they decided Johnny’s teacher was the cause of the problem. A conference with both the principal and the teacher convinced them this was not true.
• As they became more observant and more inquisitive, they noticed that Johnny complained of frequent headaches and minor digestive problems. He surprised them with the news that he wanted to quit playing Little League baseball. This was baffling as he had always loved the sport and excelled in pitching.
• When Johnny awoke one morning with bald patches on his head, they realized he had pulled his hair out during the night. Their concern elevated to the point of panic.
Johnny was taken to the family doctor for a physical examination. During the consultation, Jim and Mary were provided with the explanation that stress was the primary source of Johnny’s problems.
Determined to help their son, but still baffled, Jim and Mary reviewed their lives and lifestyle. They had often talked about stress in their jobs, but had never considered the fact that children suffer from stress and certainly had not been aware that they were the cause of most of Johnny’s stress. Like most children, he had not verbalized his worries and fears, and they had failed to take note of other signals.
Had they been more sensitive they would have been aware of his withdrawn behavior. They would have noticed that he spent less time with his neighborhood friends.
They would have wondered why he preferred going into his room after school and watching television alone.
They would have observed that he read and reread the same comic books over and over again.
They would have consulted the doctor about his nightmares instead on just blaming them on too many bad television shows.
Jim and Mary evaluated their own lifestyle and were objective in evaluating stressors they found.
They had offered extravagant rewards for straight A report cards, for no-hit baseball games, for perfect piano recitals.
They had created a standard of excellence that not only demanded perfection, but had created fear-like phobias of being imperfect.
They had adopted a slogan, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
Next week we will discuss how Jim and Mary sought to eliminate stressors in their lifestyle and to help Johnny cope with stress in his life.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1985
Angry at first, then puzzled, they searched for clues to his changed school attitude.
Johnny had always been a good student. He made A’s, B’s and occasionally a C. He seemed to like school; he approached each day with enthusiasm and interest. Previous school conferences had always been pleasant experiences. When had al this changed?
• As many thoughts crossed their minds, they first considered the possibility of a visual problem. But after a visit to the doctor for an eye examination, nothing of significance was found.
• Rationalizing that everyone gets a bad teacher at some point, they decided Johnny’s teacher was the cause of the problem. A conference with both the principal and the teacher convinced them this was not true.
• As they became more observant and more inquisitive, they noticed that Johnny complained of frequent headaches and minor digestive problems. He surprised them with the news that he wanted to quit playing Little League baseball. This was baffling as he had always loved the sport and excelled in pitching.
• When Johnny awoke one morning with bald patches on his head, they realized he had pulled his hair out during the night. Their concern elevated to the point of panic.
Johnny was taken to the family doctor for a physical examination. During the consultation, Jim and Mary were provided with the explanation that stress was the primary source of Johnny’s problems.
Determined to help their son, but still baffled, Jim and Mary reviewed their lives and lifestyle. They had often talked about stress in their jobs, but had never considered the fact that children suffer from stress and certainly had not been aware that they were the cause of most of Johnny’s stress. Like most children, he had not verbalized his worries and fears, and they had failed to take note of other signals.
Had they been more sensitive they would have been aware of his withdrawn behavior. They would have noticed that he spent less time with his neighborhood friends.
They would have wondered why he preferred going into his room after school and watching television alone.
They would have observed that he read and reread the same comic books over and over again.
They would have consulted the doctor about his nightmares instead on just blaming them on too many bad television shows.
Jim and Mary evaluated their own lifestyle and were objective in evaluating stressors they found.
They had offered extravagant rewards for straight A report cards, for no-hit baseball games, for perfect piano recitals.
They had created a standard of excellence that not only demanded perfection, but had created fear-like phobias of being imperfect.
They had adopted a slogan, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
Next week we will discuss how Jim and Mary sought to eliminate stressors in their lifestyle and to help Johnny cope with stress in his life.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1985