Q: My son has a serious behaviour problem. He and I go to a mental health therapist and that is helpful. Things are better for us at home, but not as good at school. My son cannot settle down and do what his teachers ask him to do. He is in Grade 7 and is about to fail if he does not turn things around. Do you have any suggestions?
A: I hope you and your son’s teachers are working as a team, much the same as you and your mental health therapist are. Nothing could be worse for him than to have his home and school not getting along. If you and one of his teachers meet every two or three weeks, your son will gradually realize that you are all working together to help him. That support should encourage him to make changes.
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United States schools are having great success working with children by encouraging them to begin their school days with physical exercise. Students who spend 30 to 40 minutes at the start of each day running on treadmills improve both their classroom behaviours and academic skills. Running tires their bodies but has the opposite effect on their ability to think and learn. They are able to focus more clearly and get more involved in their assignments.
The research findings are detailed in a book called Sparks, written by John Ratey, an associate clinical psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School. You might want to get a copy to take with you when you are talking to your son’s teachers. Some will be skeptical but the research counters their misgivings and will give reassurance until the exercise programs prove their worth in the classroom.
The exercise programs for your son are not directed at athletic success. They are simply routines that will help him resolve some of his emotional and psychological difficulties. The more he is freed from the ghosts of the past, the more he will have a chance to perform to his abilities both at school now and at a job in later life.
Jacklin Andrews is a family counsellor from Saskatchewan. Contact: jandrews@producer.com.
