Boys cause you sleepless nights no matter how they are related to you! The latest boy to cause me to fall asleep at my desk is in fact one of my students. This little lad lost his Mum last year and it has been a year of endless struggles. He is in my tutor group, so I'm the person he sees the most often and I consider him to be, as the others, one of my kids! He has spent the year getting into trouble almost every day. Nothing major, he is a good lad, but small random events; chewing gum, missing detentions, talking and answering back, the usual teenage boy stuff. The problem is every time I look at him, I can see him screaming out for help... or is he? We are only two weeks into the new term and he's been in trouble again. So the question is, which one of us is overreacting? Is he actually just a hormonal teenage boy?
Having spent a lot of time with him and his family over the past year, I worry over the slightest thing he says. He looks after his little brother and is becoming more and more responsible around the house, helping with the shopping and the school run. Dad is brilliant, but how the hell do you cope with losing your incredible wife and finish raising your children, desperately trying not to fall apart in the process. We managed to get him and Dad into therapy, but with the massive gaps in the process, he only got six weeks - how do you support a bereaved 12 year old in six weeks? We also managed to get his Dad help and slowly, they're getting there. But, it's just not enough. Last Christmas, I had to face up to the fact that I can't make this better; I can try and I can support him and be there for him to talk to, but I can't make this go away and I can't 'cure' him. Now I'm having to figure out if his behaviour is because he's a teenager or because he's struggling? If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to suggest them...
I guess I need to stop panicking. I worry every second that I'll miss something or that there's more I could be doing. I'll never give up on him, ever. But I think I need to let him go... This is going to be hard.
About Me
- Pixie
- How many times have you wanted to escape to the bottom of the garden and disappear inside your imagination? Well, I've wanted to every since I started school and I doubt I was the only little girl with a fully furnished 'camp' behind the garden shed. Hence how I got the nickname Pixie, and strangely, it's followed me around for the last 20 years. Of course, every now and then even Pixies must emerge into the real world, but the real one's never stop venturing back to camp. So, here's what I've discovered on my travels so far...
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