Kate Silverton Instagram – All animals have a fight/flight defensive response – if they feel threatened they draw on a number of only a few responses – fight, flight, flop, freeze – and also fawn ( pleasing/ over compliance ) and our children ( and we ) have it too.
In parenting it means we might be faced with a child who is aggressive / oppositional ( FIGHT ) if they are put in a position that their brain detects is threatening ( eg going somewhere new for the first time, taking a new dance / exercise class, going to school on the first day / asked a question they don’t know the answer to in class ) or FLIGHT .. which can see a child run around, or run away from you… FLOP .. a child might drop to the floor refusing to move … this is not ‘naughty’ … this is a child in the middle of neurochemical overwhelm – a stress response
Finally a child might FREEZE – and go mute, seemingly unable or refusing to speak or answer your questions
I will talk about FAWN in more depth is as it multi-faceted response and we want to spot the child who is being over compliant even at the expense of their own well-being
Much more on all of this in my book ‘there’s STILL no such thing as naughty’ for parents with children from five years old … lots of exercises and tips to help you and your child when they are in the middle of their fight / flight stress response
You can PREORDER now, link in the bio
#parenting #parentingtips #fightflightfreezefawn #oppositionaldefiantdisorder | Posted on 03/Mar/2024 16:59:02
