Treating Impulsive Behaviors in Your Child Effectively

It’s never easy parenting an impulsive child. No matter how you love him or her, the endless frustration of coping with erratic and ill-considered actions is always with you. Where another child might stop and think before trying to climb a bookshelf…your child climbs now, thinks later. Dropping a full glass on the floor just to see what happens? A child with poor impulse control will barely hesitate, and will not be prepared for accepting the consequences.

But treating impulsive behaviors is a challenge. Too many doctors and educators have been falling back on the “easy” option of using strong prescription medications. Prescription medications can’t teach a child good judgment, and they can interfere with his or her ability to learn to read and stunt growth and development.

When you’re parenting an impulsive child the question is, “Which is more important: controlling the behaviors now, or helping the child learn how to control his behavior now and in the future?”

Don’t despair because there are options. Many people parenting an impulsive child choose to rough it out and avoid prescription medications entirely, relying on good home teaching and supervision, behavior therapy, and natural alternative medication. Others choose to work with their doctors to design personal programs based on a similar combination of non-prescription approaches with a prescription element added at a much lower level.

Then there are those who find that treating impulsive behaviors in a particular child will still demand prescription medications at a higher level, but the side effects can be reduced by using natural alternative medications.

You are the one parenting an impulsive child. You are the one close enough to know the costs and benefits of treating impulsive behaviors with harsh medications that on some levels may make your child worse. Therefore you must be part of the decision making team. Take time to learn about all the options.

Behavior therapy with a strong follow-through of in-home discipline and environment control is a great place for almost any impulsive child to start. Instead of simply flattening the impulsive response, they teach a child to recognize it, stop, and think things through before acting. The skills developed will serve your child forever.

Similarly, homeopathic medications like Hyoscyamus, Arsen Iod, Verta Alb and Tuberculinum offered in low solutions calm the brain and increase your child’s ability to focus and make good decisions. Where prescription medications are the “elephant gun” approach to stopping impulsivity, homeopathic solutions and formulas are a gentle, but more effective solution for treating impulsive behaviors.

Parenting an impulsive child isn’t ever going to be simple or easy. Making the right choices will make a massive difference in your child’s life, now and in the future, though. Take the time to look into the various alternatives open to you. By combining treatments with the knowledge and guidance of your doctor you can come up with the best possible program for you and your child.