Parenting Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder

By Mark Hutten, M.A.

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Tricks To Getting Compliance From Defiant Children and Teens

By Mark Hutten, M.A.
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Children and teens with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) talk back, refuse to do chores, use bad language, and say things like "You can't make me" nearly every day. While all children display this kind of behavior from time to time, with Oppositional Defiant Disorder children, the symptoms continue for six months or more. Thus, moms and dads feel they are always struggling with their youngster. Even more confounding, conventional discipline strategies usual fail. Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder refuse to go on a time-out from an early age, and claim not to care about losing privileges. If their exasperated mother or father shut them in their rooms, they may destroy their own belongings or go out the window. When parents resort to spanking, the ODD child focuses on the parent’s behavior (e.g., "I'll call the police and report you for child abuse") instead of his own. Defiant kids actually believe they are equal to their parents. It'...
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ODD Children Who Hit Their Parents

By Mark Hutten, M.A.
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The first thing a mother or father should realize is that aggressive behavior is common in children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) . The young child suffering from ODD simply lacks the maturity to hold back his impulse to hit or kick. He may actually know that hitting is wrong, but can't control himself in the middle of his anger and frustration. Anger and frustration are major issues for ODD kids. When the defiant youngster gets angry, he is expressing his utter frustration at the lack of control that he has over his world. Something happens that deeply troubles him, but he lacks the tools to express his frustration appropriately. This further frustrates him, and he explodes in anger. He may strike at parents with the only tool at his disposal – by hitting. Growing up is hard work. Many times, kids who face mental health issues and are under a lot of stress go through an aggressive phase. This can be because they have less energy for self-control, or because...
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Effective Disciplinary Strategies for Children and Teens with Oppositional Defiant Disorder

By Mark Hutten, M.A.
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The term “discipline” refers generally to the practices that parents use to teach their kids rules of conduct and to enforce those rules. Disciplinary practices for children and teens with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) include: (a) creation and discussion of rules and expectations, (b) reminders of rules, (c) positive consequences for adhering to rules, and (d) negative consequences for breaking rules. In discussions with children, rules can be referred to as “expectations.” Experts describe at least four different approaches to discipline: 1. Inductive Discipline Style: The term “inductive discipline” is commonly used by psychologists to refer to the most effective type of parental discipline of kids. Inductive or positive discipline is designed to avoid power struggles, arbitrary use of parental authority, and other forms of negative interaction around discipline. This approach to discipline is often associated with “authoritative parenting,” which is the positive mid...
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