Three Types of Behavioral Disorders In Children

The recipient of a PhD in psychology from The Ohio State University, Beth Grosshans is a retired clinical child psychologist. Beth Grosshans has worked with children and parents for over 25 years through her private practice in New Jersey. In 2008, She published a book titled “Beyond Time Out: From Chaos to Calm,” which discusses children's troubling behaviors and how parents might have contributed to such problems.

A child probably has a behavioral disorder if he or she shows troubling behaviors that are not typical of their age, in the absence of temporary stressors. However, defiant or impulsive attitudes in a particular instance don't mean a child has a behavioral disorder, as these are typically perfectly normal. Rather, behavioral disorders may be the case when such behaviors occur more often and for no known reason. There are different types of behavioral disorders in children, with many having similar signs. Common ones are:

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD): With a 2 to 1 ratio, ODD is more prevalent among boys than girls. Typical signs of ODD include stubbornness, low self-esteem, low frustration threshold, frequent temper tantrums, and intention to annoy others or cause trouble.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): With boys outnumbering girls, ADHD affects about 2 to 5 percent of all children. Signs include having trouble concentrating, restlessness, and carelessness.

Conduct Disorder (CD): Also prevalent among boys, conduct disorder is characterized by delinquent behaviors and disregard for rules. Children with CD tend to get into physical fights or lie more often, disobey parents or other authorities, lack empathy for others, use weapons in physical fights, and may also have the intention of running away from home.

Bed-Wetting Management In Children And Motivational Therapy

A retired clinical child psychologist, Dr. Beth Grosshans taught child development at Princeton Center for Teacher Education. Based in New Jersey, Beth Grosshans, Ph.D., has written a book on the parent/child relationship.

Also known as nighttime incontinence or nocturnal enuresis, bed-wetting refers to involuntary urination during sleep in a person that has reached the age where this is expected to have stopped (age 7). Some parents prevent this by helping their children set an alarm for toilet use at night, and most children get fully adapted to this training by age 5. If bed-wetting persists for a long time, it can result in emotional problems such as low self-esteem, and behavioral disorders. Aside from addressing the emotional and behavioral problems associated with bed-wetting, psychological management has been hypothesized to be helpful stop bed-wetting. In the past years, several studies were done to compare the efficacy of motivational therapy in treating enuresis.

In 1991, a randomized controlled trial was done on two groups to evaluate the effect of motivational therapy in managing bed-wetting. One category had a 3-step management program (which involved child encouragement, bladder retention training, and behavioral training), and the other group received the 3-step program plus motivational therapy where each child discussed problems with a psychiatrist. At the end of the study, 84.4 percent of the motivational therapy group, and 66.7 percent of the 3-step program group achieved 14 consecutive dry nights.

United Against Poverty Helps Clients Regain Independence

The New Jersey-based author of Beyond Time Out: From Chaos to Calm, retired child psychologist Dr. Beth Grosshans helps parents develop strategies to establish boundaries with children and create a more balanced family dynamic. Additionally, Dr. Beth Grosshans serves on the steering committee for United Against Poverty, a charitable organization that offers resources for Florida residents living in poverty.

Since 2003, United Against Poverty has worked to break cycles of poverty by operating food assistance programs throughout southern Florida. In addition to emergency food supplies and highly subsidized groceries, the organization operates the Success Training for Employment Program (STEP) to address the root causes of poverty. Through career training and coaching, the program equips clients with skills that help them regain dignity and become self-reliant.

Often, United Against Poverty clients give back to the organization by volunteering, in the process learning organizational and administrative skills required for nonprofit work. When job openings arise, United Against Poverty often hires from this volunteer pool in order to further empower and uplift its clients.

When and How to Give Children Choices

Accomplished child psychologist Dr. Beth Grosshans retired from her private Princeton, New Jersey practice and now leads informative workshops and lectures on parenting, child development, and positive family dynamics. In her book Beyond Time Out: From Chaos to Calm, Dr. Beth Grosshans details several areas where family dynamics can become imbalanced, including during any decision-making process.

Giving children too many or inappropriate choices is a common parenting mistake that can inadvertently cause anxiety in children and lead to disruptive behaviors. In a misguided attempt to promote independence, parents may give children the power to make a decision that is beyond their cognitive or emotional capacity. 

Also, parents may not be consistent with the types of choices a child can make, for example, allowing them to choose their dinner one night, but not the next. This can cause confusion for the child and result in boundary-testing behavior. 

Instead, parents should only offer a child a choice between two to three options for age-appropriate decisions. If a child cannot grasp the implications of the decision, then it should be left to the parents to decide. Some examples of age-appropriate decisions include a three year old choosing one of three sweaters to wear, or a 10 year old deciding between setting the table or washing the dishes.

How Disappointment is Beneficial to Kids

Retired New Jersey-based child psychologist Beth Grosshans has more than two decades of experience. She has leveraged her extensive experience in the field to guide parents with Beyond Time Out, a parenting book that enlightens ineffective parenting approaches and provides guidance on reestablishing control. In this book, Beth Grosshans addresses issues resulting from parents exalting specialness in their kids and avoiding childhood disappointment.

Feeling disappointed is unpleasant for people of all ages since it involves feelings of loss and discouragement. Naturally, you don’t want your child to experience negative emotions such as this, but as a result, you may do everything in your power to keep your child from experiencing this particular emotion. However, disappointment plays a major role in how children develop emotionally, socially, and intellectually. 

Without disappointment, children cannot develop the tools they need to handle life’s ups and downs as adults, nor can they develop the creative thinking, emotional resilience, and collaboration skills they could otherwise rely on during the rest of their childhood and adulthood.

Instead of going out of your way to prevent disappointment in your kids, focus on teaching them how to cope with disappointment in a healthy way. To do this, you must first have a good attitude towards disappointment. Show children that disappointment is a normal part of life and that they can learn from feeling disappointed. 

It’s also important that you do not overpraise your children when they feel disappointed or save them from setbacks. Doing so is detrimental to children since these behaviors teach them to depend on praise for validation or to avoid trying new things.

3 Benefits Montessori School Children Enjoy

Princeton, New Jersey, clinical child psychologist Dr. Beth Grosshans has 25 years of experience working with a variety of adolescent patients and their families. Over the course of 13 years as a course instructor at the Princeton Center for Teacher Education, Dr. Beth Grosshans provided child development education to teachers pursuing work in Montessori schools. She enjoyed a strong relationship with Montessori educators for the duration of her career.

Children enjoy a number of benefits when learning in a Montessori classroom compared to students at a traditional school. A child-centered approach to learning, for example, is a cornerstone of Montessori education. Each student is afforded the opportunity to learn at his or her own pace and is encouraged to pursue topics that generate a natural curiosity. Aspects of child-centered learning can be seen in every element of a Montessori classroom, including child-sized furniture and a classroom design that puts every educational aid within the child’s reach.

Despite this highly individualized approach to learning, Montessori students also enjoy numerous opportunities for cooperative play. Every station in a Montessori classroom has been designed to facilitate a love of learning in children, while cooperative interactions provide insight into important topics, such as community building and respect for others.

Lastly, Montessori educators are regarded as facilitators of the learning experience, or guides, rather than lecturers or all-knowing authoritative figures. This approach to the teacher-student relationship, like most elements of a Montessori classroom, has been implemented so that children can form their own learning styles and continue to pursue knowledge, rather than push back against excessive instruction.

Three Must-Read Biographical Books Available in the Met Opera Shop

Beth Grosshans is a retired New Jersey-based clinical psychologist who regularly delivers presentations on child development and co-authored the book Beyond Time-Out: From Chaos to Calm. Beyond her professional pursuits, Beth Grosshans is a New York Metropolitan Opera advisory board member. 

In addition to presenting operatic performances on the stage and through TV and radio, the Met allows interested viewers and supporters the opportunity to purchase souvenirs from its Met Opera Shop. Among its books, the shop has 19 biographies, including the three below.

1. Maria by Callas - Available for $195, this 260-page hardcover biography details the life of legendary opera singer Maria Callas. It was comprised by filmmaker Tom Volf, who traveled the world to interview her closest friends, including her longtime best friend Nadia Stancioff and her favorite conductor Georges Prêtre.

2. Ballerina Body - Written by celebrated ballerina Misty Copeland, this health and fitness book details secrets on how to achieve glowing health and a lean, strong body through regiments followed by Copeland as well as excerpts from her personal journal. It's listed at $30 and $27 for members.

3. Call Me Debbie - This 288-page paperback biography has the subtitle of "True Confessions of a Down-to-Earth Diva." In it, renowned soprano Deborah Voigt details her journey to stardom in a completely unguarded and revealing memoir that touches on her battles with addictions and other self-destructive tendencies. It's available for $15.99.