Answering the need
Two years ago this month we put Link on medication for ADD. It was a transformative event for him. Three months ago we stopped giving him the medication. We wanted to see if he really needed it. Short answer, he does. We put him back on last Monday and discovered that he talks to us more, he is happier, he can look at an assignment and just do it instead of being overwhelmed by it. The difference is striking. I’m sure that medication is not always the right answer. I know that it is sometimes prescribed unnecessarily, but then there are kids like Link for whom it is a Godsend.
I’ve had a long standing rule that kids are allowed to pick one activity for their own enjoyment. We’ve had soccer, piano, gymnastics, dance, art, etc. But recently I realized that Gleek needs more than one activity. She is a much happier person when she has things to do and places to go. When she doesn’t she solves her boredom by bouncing off of other people. I had her in Piano, which is a good fit for the musical and creative side of her, but I realized that she needs a physical activity as well. The one she has wanted for months is gymnastics. I worried about putting her in gymnastics because it is a sport that frequently pressures young girls into competitions that they are not ready to handle. But I can’t continue to keep Gleek out of an activity that I know she’ll love and be good at just because I worry about what might happen. I’ve told Gleek that she can have gymnastics, but that I won’t allow her to participate in competitions until she is 12. Odds are good that Gleek’s interests will have moved on to something else by then.
Patch doesn’t have an activity. Yesterday he said that he needs a new swim teacher because he still doesn’t know how to swim. So I’ll be signing up for that.
Kiki doesn’t have an activity either. She seems pretty content not to have one after years of taking art classes. I’m keeping my eyes open for an activity she might enjoy, but I’m also relieved to have fewer things on the schedule.
Now I just need to go fiddle with the budget to make sure I can cover the additional expenses.