A previous blog lists some great parenting strategies for working with a child who has Opppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Here are more strategies to try.

5) Keep reminding yourself that this is NOT about you, the parent. This is about the child. Either his brain is not capable of making choices OR his past is keeping him in this spot in order to feel safe. Either way, this is about the child. Your job is to love him anyway.... more

Parenting a child with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is difficult. Here are some great strategies to try!

Here are some things to try:

1) Inject humor wherever and whenever possible!! I listed this as #1 because I feel it is more important than most any other idea you will ever hear on parenting difficult chidren. When people ask how I’m able to handle working with so many difficult children in my house, I always tell them that the KEY is to have fun!! An internet friend recently visited our home and remarked... more

I have a daughter (15 years old today) who is somewhat new to our family. She does not have a diagnosis of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), but often is highly oppositional to prove a point, either to us parents or to herself. This morning she exemplified another effort to "show me" that she is in charge and we (parents) are not. This morning, hubby said happy birthday to B. and reminded her that, on birthdays, you get a day off from any chores. Do you suppose she is not doing any chores, then? No, instead, she's cleaning... more

John was 6 years old and already diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). One morning, he was sitting on the floor, refusing to get dressed for school. As many times as I might ask him, or in as many ways, he wasn’t going to move. In fact, the more he thought I wanted him to get ready for school, the less likely he was going to do that.

So, I told him I wanted him to sit down. Of course, he stood right up. He still didn’t get ready for school, yet the degree of his opposition was becoming more evident. I told him... more