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WISE Talk: Is my kid normal?

April 5, 2017

How do you know if your kid is normal? That’s a million-dollar question. What is normal? I think that really is the main issue is what IS normal? I think that when we talk about intelligence or what is smart, I mean we can weigh all these things against what is typical?

So what’s typical for your child’s age? What’s typical for your child’s temperament? I think that is a more important thing to look at than normal. But, I also think that if you’re worried about something, first of all, as a parent, you have some gut feelings about your kids. But when you’re worried about something, if it’s getting in the way of your child’s functioning, if something like being worried about missing the bus is getting in the way of your child actually getting to school or if you notice that your child is sort of sad and their sadness is getting in the way of them making new friends. Then really, that’s sort of outside of what’s typical.

When we’re looking at and talking about what’s normal, we’re really talking about what’s typical. It’s not really typical for a child to feel depressed or anxious, so if those are things that you see, then it’s a really good idea to get some support from your school, from your family members, and from a professional so that you can figure out what’s going on and problem solve ways to make it better.

Until next week, Be Wise!