{"id":6761,"date":"2013-07-22T21:59:29","date_gmt":"2013-07-22T19:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/responsive.jozikids.co.za\/zaparents\/?p=6761"},"modified":"2022-06-09T20:01:33","modified_gmt":"2022-06-09T18:01:33","slug":"labeling-kids-is-it-helping-or-hindering-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/education\/adhd\/labeling-kids-is-it-helping-or-hindering-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Labeling kids \u2013 is it helping or hindering them?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was recently told by a professional kids\u2019 psychologist that my son may have something called tactile defensiveness.\u00a0 What this means is that he dislikes certain textures and feelings against his skin and on him.\u00a0 The reason I went to a psychologist is because he refuses to eat certain foods, has a problem with the labels on his clothes and also doesn\u2019t like getting dirty (which 6 year old doesn\u2019t like that!)<\/p>\n

She suggested I take him to see an occupational therapist that will help his \u2018condition\u2019.\u00a0 So my question here is:\u00a0 Is all this necessary?\u00a0 How come there weren\u2019t all these things when I was growing up?\u00a0 Or did our parents just let us be and grow out of stuff like that?<\/p>\n

Are we overdoing the labelling kids?<\/h2>\n

I have met many a parent who shared stories of their kid having some or other issue, be it low concentration, emotional developmental problems, or muscle tone problems\u00a0(what is that?). \u00a0It\u2019s usually something or the other.\u00a0 Or else it is allergies to the strangest things, like soap and good wholesome food (seriously?)<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019m sure these things all exist and there are qualified individuals that can help with them. \u00a0I guess it could all relate to the foods we eat and the preservatives in them as well as the lifestyles we lead.\u00a0 And I\u2019m sure that there are kids that have serious problems to deal with.\u00a0 But what happens to kids that have no access to the help that they require? \u00a0Kids who live their whole lives not knowing that they actually had some or other condition and manage to live their lives quite fine?<\/p>\n

This brought me to thinking about whether we just feel the need to label everything into a disorder and find a solution to it.\u00a0 Not a solution that\u2019s logical and simple and costs nothing but one where we have to spend time and money to feel that we\u2019re actually doing something to correct the condition.<\/p>\n

Maybe we have something to do with it<\/h3>\n

I also realised that perhaps my being pedantic and OCD (yes, I have that condition!) may have had something to do with it. \u00a0I \u00a0didn\u2019t, for example, \u00a0allow my kids to eat by themselves or explore the garden for fear of the mess and having to clean it up. Since they never touched their food on their own and experienced the different textures, maybe this made them dislike it when they eventually did.\u00a0 Maybe all they need is to simply be left to discover things for themselves.<\/p>\n

Where to from here?<\/h3>\n

This of course solely relates to my situation and the condition I find my son in.\u00a0 Does all this affect kids in the long run?\u00a0 Will they grow up to be pedantic like me or will they be well-rounded individuals, even without any medical\/therapeutic intervention? \u00a0Should I just change my mothering habits and skills?<\/p>\n

I have not yet decided what to do but I have noticed a change in my son since I\u2019ve lightened up and given him space to just be.\u00a0 What do you think?<\/p>\n

This article was originally written for Jozikids by Fatima Kazee in 2013.<\/em><\/p>\n

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