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How to Catch ADD
Last
week I had a parent-teacher conference for my 9 year old
son. The teacher told me she is well aware that my child
has an exceptional level of intelligence, that he scored
very high on the McGinnis testing, etc., etc. Music to
my ears!
The teacher continued with "But...
(warning bells immediately sound off in my head)... he
isn't taking time to do his work correctly. He seems to
be in such a rush to get his work done, that having it
done is more important than doing it right." This
was one of those Not My Child! moments where I
am wondering in my head "How did this happen?".
She reiterated "He should be an A student, but he
seems to have trouble focusing on his work long enough
to make sure its correct."
His report came back with Cs and Ds.
I was flabbergasted. I asked the teacher if she thought
he had some type of learning disability, and the teacher
immediately said "No, no, no - almost all of the
boys in the class are this way!" I guess I was supposed
to be relieved by that.
So in 2004, life has thrown
a mild curve ball my way,
and I am determined to figure this problem out.
How can my perfect angelic child who
discusses the meaning of life with me, discusses the nictitating
membranes on frogs, how to catch Osama Bin Laden, the
best way to win a Bayblade battle, the speed of Earth's
rotation... how could a child who conceives a monstrous
amount of this world - BE A C STUDENT? We're talking
about a child who comes home from school, has a snack,
does his homework, watches some TV, calls his friends,
runs to the grocery store with me, goes to his sister's
karate, has dinner, showers, brushes his teeth, bedtime
story...
— WAIT ONE SECOND —
I am having a revelation. Am I listening
to my own voice telling me how much my child is doing
in one day? Its amazing he gets it all done, and not very
important that its done correctly. And how come my child
is worried about Osama Bin Laden? What is at work here?
The big "A-HA!" has arrived.
| Modern day ADD is a learned
behavior, and its all as a result of people trying
to do too much, and not saying to hell with it, its
time to smell my roses. |
In my life I have so many tasks to complete
in one day, is it important that each is done correctly,
or just that they are done? And while I am doing these
tasks, where is my child and what is he doing? The TV
has become a default babysitter while I complete my other
tasks...
Two evils have come into society behind
our backs to form ADD. TV Mass Marketing, and unrealistic
family goals in a dual-income society. We are so busy
as a society trying to make ends meet, that our televisions
have become kind babysitters while we run the rat race.
I think ADD is much simpler than what the
Doctors and Clinicians are saying. Why don't we try throwing
out our TVs and simplifying life before we treat our children
for their 'disease' with drugs? I have realized that I
have taught my child, 'Hurry Up and Get Things Done'.
I also think that TV has evilly slipped into the backdrop
of this situation, allowing my child to be marketed to
while I am busy. By wanting everybody to have a quality
life, it involves so many tasks, that the purpose is defeated.
I am so overtasked, that I have no choice but to rush
through everything. Modern day ADD is a learned behavior,
and its all as a result of trying to do too much, and
not saying "to hell with it, its time to smell
my roses"!
The teacher explained if my child would
just double check his work, or slow down to focus on each
question, she knows he has the intelligence, he just needs
the focus. And here I am telling him "Hurry
up, we'll be late picking up your sister!"
What
are we doing in this crazy world? What are we teaching
to our children? Our children cannot focus on anything
because we parents can't either! It is up to us to hack
away those nagging tasks, and sacrifice a dirty house
for our children's quality. Sacrifice our jobs for the
ability to focus.
I was in McDonald's a few weeks ago, and
they put a little pamphlet in the to-go bag for Moms entitled
'How to Relax'. They suggested taking time for
a herbal bath, making to do lists. I was boiling mad.
How dare they pop me a pamphlet, as if to say: "We
know you didn't have any time to come into our restaruant,
you're just whizzing through our drive through, stuffin'
down our fried food... but while you stuff your face,
here are a few ways we think you can try to relax."
What an oxymoron. I'm a moron for being susceptible to
society's expectations, everyone elses's expectations,
and not listening to my own expectations coming from my
inner voice.
OK,
so do you want to know how to Catch ADD?
I came up with a few images that have
to do with current events, our schedules, and things we
see on TV, with less than one day's worth of the images
into the graphic on the right. These are images that we
see while we are driving, while we are at home, while
we are cooking dinner, while we are in the grocery store.
In addition to our busy lives, we are mass-marketed while
we are in the grocery store, watching TV at home, a subliminal
evil that slips into our subconscious unnoticed. My child
knows the purple pill, but he doesn't know 3 X 11.
To catch ADD, try to write a letter to your
child about how much you love them while looking at the
graphic.
- Athena Witherspoon
Related Topics
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