Nutrition Health Chat: Tuesday, Dec. 8th, 5-6 PM Eastern. Learn how vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients affect your health. Free live Q&A. Join us!
Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Child Behavior (Expert Forum)
13yr old step-daughter is driving us crazy!
Answered by
Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D. - Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Family Therapy, Crisis Intervention
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates
This forum is for questions and support regarding child behavior issues such: Child Discipline (behavior management), Normal Child Development, Parent-Child Communications, Social Development
13yr old step-daughter is driving us crazy!
by needhelpinillinois, Mar 13, 2007 12:00AM
Hi all. I'm reaching out for help. My husband and I have been married for 5 years now and he has one child from a previous marriage. We've had no problems with her up until we decided to move from Arizona to Illinois. We chose to move to Illinois because that's where my husband's family is and his daughter would be closer to her grandmother and granfather, whom she loves to death. Well, before the move, we let Brittanni live with her grandmother for a couple of months in Illinois while we found a house and got things situated. During this time, her grandmother let her do whatever she wanted, let her miss school (18 days to be exact) and much more. When we finally got settled and moved Britt into her new home, she was like a different child. She was 11 at the time and came out with a bad attitude. Since then, she's been very rebellious, she lies to us all the time about trivial things and here lately, she's started smarting off to teachers and refusing to do work. We are at a point in our lives now that we don't know what to do! Please help!
Doctor's Answer
by Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D., Mar 13, 2007 12:00AM
, Mar 13, 2007 12:00AM
The transition occurred at a major point in her development, early adolescence. This often makes kids vulnerable to a variety of risks, among them the sort of behavior that apparently occurred when she first made the move to her grandmother's. But that is now water over the dam, and all you can do is focus on what's in front of you. Set reasonable limits around things that you can have some influence on, and make her privileges contingent on adhering to the rules. It would be prudent to involve her (and you) in some outpatient therapy for support, problem-solving and guidance.
