My experience with DD6 is very similar, and its source is close to what DeHe describes. DD6 is bored and unchallenged through too much of the school day (only two hours a day in gifted, the rest with 1st grade), and deals with immature classmates, and the end result is she does all she can to maintain her composure all day at school, to the point where she has zero disciplinary issues there... and then she just explodes at home, over the slightest setbacks. She says she's stupid, she can't do it, she hates her life, etc. She's so worn out from maintaining her composure at school, and she feels safe venting it all at home... so she does. Spectacularly.
Recently we were told that the gifted teacher is often telling DD to smile in class, which shows what a huge problem the school is for her. Nobody has to tell her to smile at home, or at any of her extracurricular activities. If anything, the coaches have to occasionally ask her to tone down the silliness and remain on task. When she's doing what she enjoys, she's giddy to a fault. And this is a kid who recently said her favorite thing to do is learn.
We've got DD talking to a counselor at school, plus we've enlisted the help of a professional psychologist. We know that the overriding issue is lack of an educational fit, and the hope is that once we address that, the rest of the issues go away.
Last edited by Dude; 12/12/11 03:38 PM.
