New labels

 

A few months ago, I was convinced that Alice was a Spirited Child. It sounds paradoxical since I wrote many time on this blog that she is a very easy kid. Easy she is but she also has a lot of energy...energy that she uses to climb furniture, empty baskets, chase pets, unplug wires, break stuff, open drawers, move chairs, "ride" and fall from her car seat (I didn't know that a ear could bleed that much!)...you get the idea.

After one too many "Energizer Bunny" comments, I got a copy of Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, Energetic. I completed the little quiz at the beginning of the book and realized that calling Alice a Spirited Child would be a complete insult to any parent who is actually dealing with real "strong-willed" or "difficult" child. She was categorized in the "Low-Key Cool Child" (there is also "Spunky Child" and "Spirited Child"). In other words, Alice is...drum roll please...a normal kid (not that the kids falling in the two other categories are not normal)! Anyway.

There is a small section in the book dedicated to labels and how to redesign them. Totally fascinating.

We all, kids and adults, get labels that are at time positive or negative. Spirited Children are often tagged with numerous miserable labels (stubborn, wild, picky, obnoxious, manipulative, etc.) that, in the long run, can be devastating. Even positive parents can fall in the negative labels trap...especially when the labels are told by teachers, nurses or day care workers.

The author invites the readers to project a new and positive image hoping that it will have an impact on the kids self esteem and behavior. It looks simple but it is not that easy to change labels that stick on people for a long time.

To illustrate my point, I will give you a silly example. My 5 year old cockapoo, Brian, has a couple negative labels but the most frequent are "smelly", "unkept", "scared" and "barky".

Now, instead of apologizing for my "smelly", "unkept", "scared" and "barky" dog, I tell people that Brian is "musky", "naturally wooly", "prudent" and "vocal". Sounds ridiculous but it works...even for a dog. I did it a few times with strangers and this guaranteed Brian a lot of friendly coos. Now think what this little exercise can do to a child and his family.

And for your information, Alice is not intense...she is curious and enthusiastic :)