Conduct disordered children

This is a condition where there is persistent antisocial behavior. The essential feature is that the behavior is much worse than ordinary childish mischief. This usually starts at home with the child being disobedient and then going on to stealing and lying. Later this behavior occurs at school as well, and they develop truancy (cutting school), poor schoolwork, and aggressive behavior. These children can get into a lot of trouble with the teachers or even the police. They may be introduced to sexual adventures in a most corruptible form. What is even worse, they may start experimenting with drugs. Today most young people who take drugs such as heroin have been disturbed children earlier. The child psychiatrists have a name for these children - conduct disordered children. These are often the common bullies in the school.  

What makes them conduct disordered?

Conduct disordered children are not born that way. Their families and the society in which they grow and live make them so. There are two things that are common to many of these children, poor self esteem and poor control by the parents. Children gain self esteem first by identifying their parents as good parents and later by talking pride in their abilities.

Ask anyone if their parents were bad people. Anyone who says yes, he is likely to suffer from poor self esteem. Children who come from disturbed families have poor self esteem. Fathers who are often drinking or gambling, parents who are constantly quarrelling, immature patents, bitter separations between father and mother, all these are some examples of disturbed families. The children from such families are more likely to be disturbed. Another common cause of self esteem, is being a poor learner. Many children with learning problems, either due to dyslexia or poor intelligence, develop poor self esteem due to repeated failures. What is more, teachers either reject them or punish them, and peers often ridicule them. Siblings and parents may do the same. Unless they have another ability such as sports, these children have very poor self esteem and conduct disorder is the result.

Poor control by the patents: just as much as children identify their parents as good parents or bad patents, they also recognize their moral values. The same applies to control. Children need control imposed upon them from outside. They eventually identify these controls as their own, and use them to control their impulses. We have often heard the story of an only child who was given everything that was asked and later turned out to be out of control. Most modern day parents have one or two children, and they tend to give in to all that they ask for. These children are denied an important learning expedience that is control.

Other courses include brain damage and epilepsy, difficult temperament and poor discipline. What can be done? lf the problem is in the early stages the whole family needs counselling; that will help. However if the problem has gone too far, nothing seems to help. This is indeed a rather gloomy statement about a problem of our own making those children were not born with a conduct disorder. What happens to these children? Some children with conduct disorder, when directed properly learn to get over this state. But many do not. lt has been estimated that about half of them grow up to be very disturbed adults. All criminals and other people with disturbed personalities have been conduct disordered children. This is a problem that is best prevented than treated. Here are a few hints as to how parents can prevent this problem:

• Take a good look at yourself and try to reform your drinking and marital problems for the safe development of your children. Be a good model for your children.
• Keep a close tag on your children. If they have learning difficulties, discuss those problems with their teacher, and consult a child psychiatrist.
• Encourage your children in areas where their talents lie, rather than push each and everyone of them beyond their capabilities, such as striving to get them through universities.
• Control your children without punishing them.