Helping Challenging Children
36 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsWelcome to this new podcast which focuses on helping parents and adults survive and thrive with challenging children.My name is Dr. Pat McGuire. I am a developmental & behavioral pediatrician who, over the last 30+ years has worked with more than 3000 children and their families, in order to create positive, healthy families. Our society is realizing that raising children to be healthy, happy, and productive adults is more challenging than originally thought. We are seeing the effects of toxic stress on the integrity of families and in the physical and mental health outcomes of children.This podcast will look at a variety of topics which will help parents and professionals rethink how they see and respond or react to children and adolescents. I will challenge many adults to consider how they decided to interact with children and if it was based on sound developmental knowledge, or a history of "That's the way it has always been."
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Episodes
Episode 32 Bias & Bigotry Are Not Inborn - They Are Taught
June 10, 2020 22:00 - 12 minutes - 8.71 MBWe, as a society, are struggling. We have talked about civil rights since at least the Civil War. We quote the Declaration of Independence with Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, but we put limits on who should be recipients of these rights. We show our biases and bigotry toward others not "like us." Where do biases and bigotry come from? We are not born with biases and bigotry which means that they are taught to us. Biases and bigotry develop in our limbic system where we have t...
Episode 31 Modeling Love, Acceptance & Respect to Children During COVID 19
May 22, 2020 14:00 - 14 minutes - 9.8 MBThis pandemic has shown that our country is greatly divided. What should be a situation where children see adults model care and compassion for their neighbors, has shown that there are a group of people who don't believe in that, but rather model how to push others around. We need to see if we are being good models of showing love, acceptance and respect to others now and in the future.
Episode 30 FASD and COVID 19
May 14, 2020 01:00 - 7 minutes - 4.96 MBWe are not just struggling with an infectious disease right now. We also also struggling with women, who due to mental health disorders, could very well be drinking alcohol much more often and may also be pregnant. This means that we have a high risk of a surge in the number of babies born with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, which will impact their lives and all of society for decades to come. And there are also the individuals who currently have FASD and are struggling due to the signif...
Episode 29: Learning Disabilities: Helping the 3 R's
May 07, 2020 01:00 - 9 minutes - 6.89 MBApproximately 10% of children will be diagnosed with a learning disability over their lifetime. Learning disorders are considered neurodevelopmental disorders, which means that they are part of the child's wiring at birth. But that doesn't mean that we can't help develop skills even before they show signs. The more we expose children from birth to 5 years of age to language, sounds, books, and hands' on activities, the more their brains learn to process what their senses are experiencing, w...
Episode 28: Children, COVID19 & PTSD
April 30, 2020 02:00 - 11 minutes - 8.03 MBThere has been a great deal of talk about how this pandemic is affecting the mental health of those who already struggle with mental health disorders. But it is and will have effects on our children, who don't have the developed frontal and prefrontal lobes to logically process the situation and make future plans. They need us for this. But how are we doing? Listen to this episode and think about what signs of long term stress which can make you more vulnerable are also being seeing in kid...
Episode 27 Celebrating Children With Down's Syndrome
April 23, 2020 00:00 - 6 minutes - 4.84 MBBefore the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act there was the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) from 1975 to 1990. This was enacted while I was in college, which is why I never really had exposure to students with disabilities, especially Down's Syndrome. I have spent my career working with students with all abilities and difficulties but have felt more of a need to advocate for children with Down's Syndrome because they are an endangered segment of our society. Even to...
Episode 26: Helping Our Children When They Need To Be Close
April 15, 2020 18:00 - 7 minutes - 5.24 MBThese are scary times for all of us. We are unsure of our economic future and our physical and mental health due to the pandemic. As adults we are struggling to remain calm, to use logic to counter the fears that run rampant through our minds. Our children are also struggling, and are many times more fearful because they don't have the maturity of our brains and the experiences where things have gone wrong but later got back to normal, or a new normal. They reach out to us to provide the se...
Helping Our Children When They Need To Be Close
April 15, 2020 18:00 - 7 minutes - 5.24 MBThese are scary times for all of us. We are unsure of our economic future and our physical and mental health due to the pandemic. As adults we are struggling to remain calm, to use logic to counter the fears that run rampant through our minds. Our children are also struggling, and are many times more fearful because they don't have the maturity of our brains and the experiences where things have gone wrong but later got back to normal, or a new normal. They reach out to us to provide the se...
Episode 25 Behaviors, Tics, or Motor Movement Problems
April 08, 2020 18:00 - 9 minutes - 6.8 MBRight about now many families are getting very tired of being in close quarters with their children. Many things are getting on the parents nerves, especially actions which their children are doing which feel like intentional behavioral actions. But, this may be a good time to sit back and observe as a scientist would, to objectively watch as the child goes about his activities, or as you try to get him to do some school work. As your child works, do these behaviors begin to show up, despit...
Lions & Tigers & Bears - Fears and Phobias in Childen
April 01, 2020 05:00 - 11 minutes - 7.72 MBFears and phobias are very common in children due to the fact that their brain is managed by the limbic system and that they have had very few life experiences to help them cope with the novel or unknown. Learn about how to help children with fear and phobias so that they can have better days.
Episode 24 Lions & Tigers & Bears - Fears and Phobias in Childen
April 01, 2020 05:00 - 11 minutes - 7.72 MBFears and phobias are very common in children due to the fact that their brain is managed by the limbic system and that they have had very few life experiences to help them cope with the novel or unknown. Learn about how to help children with fear and phobias so that they can have better days.
Episode 23: Anxiety - The Bully In The Brain
March 25, 2020 05:00 - 7 minutes - 4.94 MBAnxiety disorders are not a grown up disorder. They actually begin in childhood with 4-20% having a diagnosed disorder, depending on which disorders are being looked at. There is also an equal number who don't make it to the disorder level, but still struggle with anxiety in different situations. Learn how to help these children so that they have more skills as they get older and may not be as at risk for grown-up anxiety disorders.
Episode 22: When The Bully Is The Victim
March 20, 2020 17:00 - 16 minutes - 11.2 MBOver my 30+ years of working with challenging children, I have experienced a number of situations where my "challenging child" was seen as the bully, when in reality it was the other child who set up the situation in order to get my child in trouble. Check out this episode to learn how to help challenging children who feel like they have limited options on how to respond to other children picking on them.
Episode 21: Managing High Energy/Activity Levels in Times of Social Distancing
March 18, 2020 19:00 - 7 minutes - 4.97 MBCabin fever comes quickly to children who are temperamentally high activity level or who have been diagnosed with ADHD. They have rapid increases in internal energy which must come out before they - and you - explode. Here are a few ideas of how you can help your child.
Episode 20: Understanding the Children Behind the Checklist
March 11, 2020 05:00 - 7 minutes - 4.9 MBWhen evaluating children for problems, parents and teachers are often asked to fill out questionnaires and checklists. These can be very valuable, but checklists may not give the entire answer due to the nature of the statements which the adults are asked to agree or disagree with. When looking at children it is important to look at the 3 components that make them up; temperament biology (or neurodevelopmental disorders) environment (how their world affects their development and behavio...
Episode 19: Speaking So Kids Can Succeed
March 05, 2020 01:00 - 6 minutes - 4.81 MBWhen we talk to children we expect them to be able to understand and hold on to the total of the information which we are sharing with them. With one child in six, however, who have neurodevelopmental disorders, this is often not the case. If you want your child to be successful at responding or reacting to what you are saying, you need to understand how to communicate effectively with him. Learn more with this episode.
Episode 18: Respect: You Must Give in Order To Receive
February 26, 2020 06:00 - 6 minutes - 4.22 MBThere is the mistake belief by some people that respect is to be given to them simply because of a title they may have, such as parent, teacher, or President. While these titles may suggest that these individuals may deserve the consideration of respect because of what they have done to achieve those titles, it is not simply the title that is being evaluated. Children don't automatically know how to "show respect". They do know that they want to be loved, accepted, and respected as being wo...
Episode 17: 5 Love Languages and the Challenging Child
February 19, 2020 06:00 - 6 minutes - 4.87 MBChildren learn that we love them by our actions. But not everyone expresses love in the same way. According to Dr. Gary Chapman, there are 5 love languages. Each is important to share with children so that they know that they are loved, especially our challenging children. Learn more about these 5 love languages here.
Episode 16: Learning Disorders Are Life Disorders
February 12, 2020 06:00 - 5 minutes - 3.93 MBMany people are under the misperception that children with learning disorders only have problems with reading, writing, and math. In reality what we call learning disorders are difficulties in processing stimuli and understanding the patterns or sequences involved in mastering academic material and life instructions. These children struggle with issues related to social interactions, chores, and activities of daily living, for which they are frequently criticized or punished.
Episode 15: I Was a Runaway Child
February 05, 2020 06:00 - 8 minutes - 5.62 MBOne in every 20 youth run away each year from home. I guess I can technically say that I would be part of those statistics, but my reasons were no where near as painful as the youth who are found on our streets. Check out this broadcast to learn more about why our youth are running away from home.
Episode 14: Why Adolescents Cut
January 29, 2020 06:00 - 6 minutes - 4.21 MBWhat can be worse than the feeling of pain from a cut? How about the pain of anxiety, depression, self-hatred, or abuse? Nonsuicidal Self Injury begins around 12 to 14 years of age, although it can begin later in life if childhood issues are not the cause of their pain. Cutting is one of several ways that people can hurt themselves in order to deal with their internal pain. Check out the podcast to learn more. And then, if you know someone who does intentionally injure themselves, reach o...
Risks for Kids to Use Drugs
January 22, 2020 06:00 - 6 minutes - 4.52 MB30% of children in school by the time they are 18 will have a substance use disorder. These are kids who have had adverse childhood experiences such as punitive parenting, problems due to neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and autism, and parent child problems due to temperament differences, as well as bullying in school. If we don't acknowledge and help these children, they will struggle with these drug issues for life, which will then lead to them being a burden on society rather t...
Episode 13: Risks for Kids to Use Drugs
January 22, 2020 06:00 - 6 minutes - 4.52 MB30% of children in school by the time they are 18 will have a substance use disorder. These are kids who have had adverse childhood experiences such as punitive parenting, problems due to neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and autism, and parent child problems due to temperament differences, as well as bullying in school. If we don't acknowledge and help these children, they will struggle with these drug issues for life, which will then lead to them being a burden on society rather t...
Episode 12: Meeting the Needs of Challenging Children
January 15, 2020 06:00 - 5 minutes - 3.55 MBMy mother has had some health issues over the last few years which has led to the need for us to anticipate where she may need some accommodations to protect her from falling. This has meant moving furniture around, removing some rugs, and even finding ways to help her up the steps to the front door. While we wish we didn't have to make changes, we do it because we want her to be part of our lives and we know that she is not playing at being weak or have balance problems, but is really stru...
Episode 11: Underestimating Children with Disabilities
January 08, 2020 06:00 - 6 minutes - 4.67 MBI was taught in medical school that a person with intellectual disabilities could not have learning disabilities. I was also told that if a child had a developmental disorder such as autism, Down's Syndrome, or other disorders, they couldn't have other disorders, especially ADHD and learning disorders. Well that was a long time ago and we now know that comorbidity is more common than originally thought. Children with Down's syndrome can have autism, ADHD, and learning disorders. Children w...
Episode 10: Understanding Aggression in Children
January 01, 2020 06:00 - 10 minutes - 7.22 MBHumans, being part of the animal kingdom, are born with the tendency to show aggression as a means of survival. But humans have the ability to use aggression less and less as we develop our prefrontal brain skills to analyze, plan, and put into effect other responses to what we are experiencing. Children learn these skills by the adults around them, who should be helping them increase their communication skills, but more importantly by providing them with feelings of love, safety and securi...
Episode 9: Do You Sense What I Sense?
December 25, 2019 06:00 - 10 minutes - 7.24 MBAll of us have our little quirks which are likely due to sensory input and processing differences. But between 5 and 16% of all children experience suffering due to problems handling the sensory input from the world around them. And many can't explain clearly enough, or at all, what is happening. Instead they communicate through their behaviors, which can be seen as disruptive and manipulative. What do you know about sensory processing issues? How have you dealt with them while living or wo...
Episode 8 Because I said So - Oppositional Defiant Disorder
December 18, 2019 06:00 - 6 minutes - 4.68 MBI was a strong-willed child. I wanted to know "WHY" I had to do what I was being told to do, why now, and why this way. Now days I would be labeled as Oppositional Defiant Disorder. What I know about myself and about most of the children I treated over 30 years, who would qualify for the ODD label, is that we were anxious about doing something that didn't align with how we saw the situation at the moment. We wanted to go along, but our anxiety caused us to need to understand first before c...
Sticks and Stones and Words Can Hurt You
December 11, 2019 06:00 - 7 minutes - 4.88 MBI would bet that as a child you heard the phrase, "Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you." That was said most likely to get you to shrug off hurtful things said to you by siblings and classmates or friends. The reality, however, is that words can and do hurt you. Maybe for a few moments or for a lifetime. Check out this blog to learn more. If you would like to learn more about the 3 layers that make up with WHO of children, check out my course, Never Assume:...
Episode 7: Sticks and Stones and Words Can Hurt You
December 11, 2019 06:00 - 7 minutes - 4.88 MBI would bet that as a child you heard the phrase, "Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you." That was said most likely to get you to shrug off hurtful things said to you by siblings and classmates or friends. The reality, however, is that words can and do hurt you. Maybe for a few moments or for a lifetime. Check out this blog to learn more. If you would like to learn more about the 3 layers that make up with WHO of children, check out my course, Never Assume:...
Episode 6: Through The Eyes of Children
December 04, 2019 06:00 - 9 minutes - 6.34 MBHave you ever had a child say or do something which you found very confusing, embarrassing, or disrespectful but the child thought he was doing something nice or responsible? Children don't see the world through the same eyes we do, which is why some situations may appear funny or scary to them but not to us. Check out this podcast to see how one young girl was seen very negatively, when in reality her actions were very understandable - if she had just been asked to explain. If you would ...
Episode 5: ACEs and Children: Not a Card Game
November 27, 2019 07:00 - 9 minutes - 6.51 MBResearch is showing that the greater number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) a child has, the more likely he or she is to have long term physical and mental health problems. In this episode I am going to discuss one area of concern, the development of the mental health problem, Borderline Personality Disorder. At any one point in time 1.6% of the population will be diagnosed with this, with the lifetime prevalence being 5.9%, or one person in 17. That means that millions of people a...
Episode 4 Answering your Child's Why Questions
November 20, 2019 06:00 - 4 minutes - 3.02 MBAs adults we tend to bristle when a child replies to our telling them to do something with a "Why". Many adults see it as being oppositional or defiant. The reality is that most children and adolescents can't immediately understand your thoughts or reasoning, making them somewhat uncomfortable. Why was he told to do it - already deep into his homework, instead of his brother who is doing nothing? Why does it need to be done now? Could it be done in ten minutes when the show he is watching ...
Episode 3 Understanding Explanations of ADHD Children
November 15, 2019 19:00 - 4 minutes - 3.27 MBWhen you were a child did you know how to do everything? Or did you have to be taught how to do many things? Children with ADHD, like other children, do need to be taught how to do things. The difference is that they have to be taught how to do things which comes more naturally to typically developing children. And if adults do work at teaching them, the ADHD children also hear that the reason for the extra effort is due to their ADHD. But when asked why they did something wrong, they get cr...
Episode 2 Are You Stressing or Stretching Your Child
November 14, 2019 17:00 - 4 minutes - 3.13 MBIt is important to provide a little stress in our lives in order to learn new things and handle life's frustrations. But are we putting too much stress on our children, which can be due to our expectations or due to the chaotic live that we are living. There is a need to step back and take time to support our children, so that they can maintain a healthy neurologic as well as physical development.
Episode I Helping Challenging Children
November 13, 2019 22:00 - 5 minutes - 4.12 MBWelcome to this new podcast which focuses on helping parents and adults survive and thrive with challenging children. My name is Dr. Pat McGuire. I am a developmental & behavioral pediatrician who, over the last 30+ years has worked with more than 3000 children and their families, in order to create positive, healthy families. Our society is realizing that raising children to be healthy, happy, and productive adults is more challenging than originally thought. We are seeing the effects of...