I don't watch it either. With a large family, I am so busy. With my free time, I'd rather be on the internet anyways.

Yes, have him evaluated. I waited til age 10 with my son. He was diagnosed bipolar. He was having "tantrums" well past the age that is normal. Hopefully it is nothing.

Drugs, violence, untreated mental illness if it includes the other things I mentioned, other illegal activity that they won't get help with, not trying to better self like attending college, trade school, or working.

I am so sorry.

Have you considered seeing if the local school will test her so there is no cost to you? That is how I had my dd evaluated. I am so glad we did, though.

There are always at least 2 side to every story. We had to kick our son out of the house at 18 (although we helped him find a cheap place to live) because he was threatening violence and raging on us a lot. It was not a healthy environment for our other kids. Sometimes there is more going on than people realize.

No way! My dh is my silver fox! Love it.

I would try some outside the home academic classes through a co-op or local college. I find at this age outside accountability has helped all 5 of my teens get more motivation.

Yes, it is a challenge and as a mother with 4 girls and 3 boys (5 have gone through the teens or are teens) I think girls are much harder. Very dramatic, nasty at times whereas my boys were more quiet and spent a lot of time in their room. I don't have any advice because I am on my 3rd teen girls and it hasn't gotten easier. And this 3rd one is a tough nut. :cursing: Just this morning she was yelling and screaming at me, telling me I'm a liar (and her older sister) and she hates our family.

I know this sounds weird but some years we have given our kids (for Christmas) their favorite junky food. I normally don't buy sweet cereals, pop tarts, soda, etc. so they loved getting those things. Not sure if a younger child would like that sort of thing although my youngest was around that age when we did it once.

Pennie, You are not a failure! You are doing what you think is best for her. That is what we moms do.

same here. Dad is fun; I am not. But I am the one who has spent the most time with them and the one who comforts them most of the time when hurt or sad. Once they are older (it may be into adulthood), I think they will appreciate us more. Or at least I hope.

I put all of my kids into school and the 3 unmotivated ones have done so well. They work hard to get their work done and on time. They don't want to get low grades, they are super organized. That type of "peer pressure" (not to look dumb/get singled out) helps a lot of kids. Kinda makes me sad that they didn't want to put in the effort for me, but I have realized that some people need the challenge of working with other students and having a different accountability person.

My girls get super dramatic and cry. It doesnt help to talk, offer hugs, etc. I try to walk away, but they can carry on a lot. Usually over stuff like hair and clothes.

I am so sorry. Miscarriage is hard even if you werent expecting to be pregnant in the first place. I miscarried in July and the pain is still so fresh. Take it easy.

Our current home came with one when we bought it. I am so glad. It helps in so many areas: laundry, dishes, skin, hair, sinks, toilets. You do have to make sure to keep it filled with the salt but upkeep has been minimal.

Wow, I am impressed!

I am sorry you are having a difficult time. I wish there were a perfect educational option. They all have their good and bad.

Yep, sounds like perimenopause. And yes, pregnancy is quite likely. I thought I was about done. Don't believe stats. I got pregnant at 48 (and miscarried) but most reports say it is virtually impossible to get pregnant naturally at that age.

That does sound good. My dd is dyslexic. I am impressed with the accommodations her school makes and how much imput they allow from me.

At my dc's school, only the students in the School of Logic (6-8) grades do these. At first, I was a bit suspicious and thought it a waste of time. But then I went to them, actually just yesterday, and I was quite impressed. They had to dress in Sunday best and act professional. They had a very impressive portfolio they went through with me, goals they had made for each subject, sample work, report card, etc. The teacher's were there in the room to answer any questions. After the conferences with my kids, I went and talked to the teacher's about behavior and socialization type issues.

I guess it depends what you call a tantrum. Yelling or extreme fussing/complaining I would say 8 is still ok. If it involves throwing things or hitting and taking forever to calm down, I would say no. My son had the second I mentioned and finally at age 10, I had him evaluated. He is bipolar. I waited too long, but thought it was a developmental thing.

I'm so sorry. I was in the same situation last fall when my dad (who suffered Alzheimer's) passed away. I took off about a week. I too felt numb, but I found if I slogged through it, it helped because when I had little to do, I focused on his death. Of course that led to tears--a lot. You need to grieve, but distractions are helpful too.

My dd was the same way. Finally at age 9 I had her tested. I wished I would have done it at 7 1/2 when I thought something might be wrong. She is dyslexic, and now that she is getting the right help, she is really improving.

Mine were this way too. Can the one without special needs do more independently in some of those subjects while you work with the other? I gave up more hands on projects (like lapbooks) by this age because I was not going to do it twice, but they were too silly together.