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we homeschool our 9th grader because he is difficult and didn't do well in the traditional school setting. he wouldn't take responsibility for his own learning. it is pretty difficult for a teacher who has a classroom of students to keep having to get one student back on track over and over again. he is oppositional and argumentative. he has social skill problems especially with peers. our only salvation is that he is very bright. when i can get past the attitude, he is so easy to teach. our days consist of 1 or 2 struggles with him not wanting to do work and probably about twice a week he refuses to do work and gets punished...you know the drill. when he gets really upset and is not getting his way (which is about 2 times a week) he tears up his work, or breaks something in the house. my husband has had it!!! our son is totally disrupting our life at home. my husband said that this is not working and is enrolling our son in public school tomorrow. this will not solve everything. my husband said we are not going to fight our son anymore to do his work. we will offer encouragement and help whenever he needs it, but its up to him to do it. it's either sink or swim. i am so fearful of what might happen to him? school work? friends ? getting in trouble?? here i can contain things. i will have no control at the public school. we have done the counseling and everything imaginable. he is on meds for adhd. we have a nice home, a great homeschool, take wonderful educational trips, wonderful attentive parents, and have no hangups in our family. older brother is in college. i am tired of being treated badly by my son. he can be so disrespectful. if it were my spouse, i would have kicked him out a long time ago. any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!!!

p.s. if we do this public school thing, boy will i have some great homeschool supplies to sell :(

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Can you take away all of his "currency" until he can earn them back and do his school work? I'm talking about taking everything.....any sports he plays, any lessons, any time with friends, electronics, cell phone....whatever he loves. And he has to earn it all back. If you attend church, I'd allow him to go there and that's it (but no fun, extra church activities).

 

Would that work for him?

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we practically live on that system---privledges suspended until behavior changes.... but we go thru hell while doing it. i'll refuse to talk about it anymore and he'll follow me around the house harrassing me. most times i can ignore, but not always. he will have bad behavior, get the punishment, have meltdown (major--about twice a week) then do what he is suppose to do to get privledges back and is so apologetic. going thru the process is torture and abusive.

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:grouphug:

 

What does he think he would like to do with his life? Is a vocational program a possibility? He could possibly begin to take classes at a community college towards a two year degree in the near future. This is what I we are looking at with my oldest dd.

 

ETA I will second counseling . . .

Edited by jelbe5
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He gets upset twice a week, punished for it, and you think that is too much?

That age is going through a lot of turmoil. Add other problems such as what your son has, there are going to be hard times!

It is hard to not be upset with kids that age when they act the way they do, I've had four sons go through being 15.

I do not suggest he go back to p.s. How long have you been homeschooling him?

Does your dh take time to do things with your son?

Just from what you've said, it sounds like he is very frustrated.

Don't give up on him, and keep going to counseling. :grouphug:

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:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

My only advice is not to make a decision in anger and despair. If ps is truly the best solution, then make the decision after you've all cooled down and can think it through calmly.

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

I'm so sorry this is so hard!!

 

Anne

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okay, my husband and i are still discussing and sleeping on it. yes, my son and husband do stuff together. it's not the problem that my son is getting upset, i guess its how he is doing it. he won't comply without all the punishments coming out and the free-for -all!! ya'll have good advice and we shouldn't make such a big decision when angry. keep the comments coming. thanks so much.

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He gets upset twice a week, punished for it, and you think that is too much?

That age is going through a lot of turmoil. Add other problems such as what your son has, there are going to be hard times!

It is hard to not be upset with kids that age when they act the way they do, I've had four sons go through being 15.

I do not suggest he go back to p.s. How long have you been homeschooling him?

Does your dh take time to do things with your son?

Just from what you've said, it sounds like he is very frustrated.

Don't give up on him, and keep going to counseling. :grouphug:

 

this is second year homeschooling, BUT we had a teacher last year with him doing everything that i am doing this year. if i could find another teacher, i would. who sounds frustrated, hubby or son??

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He gets upset twice a week, punished for it, and you think that is too much?

That age is going through a lot of turmoil. Add other problems such as what your son has, there are going to be hard times!

It is hard to not be upset with kids that age when they act the way they do, I've had four sons go through being 15.

I do not suggest he go back to p.s. How long have you been homeschooling him?

Does your dh take time to do things with your son?

Just from what you've said, it sounds like he is very frustrated.

Don't give up on him, and keep going to counseling. :grouphug:

and wow, 4 boys. any other advice you can give, would be great.

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I wonder if enrolling him in an online or correspondence school would be helpful? That way it could lift some of the responsibility off you and put it on your son? He will either do the work or he won't . . .

 

Perhaps you could help him find a mentor he could apprentice with in the areas he is interested in? That may also be helpful . . .

 

Sorry this age and personality type can be so hard. :grouphug:

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Are you sure his medications are correct? I was having issues with my two adhder;s around this age and a bit earlier, because I found that too low a dose of the medications made them just focused enough to get angry. It took a while, but especially with one of my kids, once we got the medications straight, we rarely had problems. But it was an extreme trial while it was happening. Oh and my kids were on medications from pre-school years so it wasn't that they weren't used to them. I found that growth spurts and particularly the hormonal influences of this age changed medication effectiveness,.

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:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

I'm so sorry that you are so upset. I wish I had some great advice for you, but the only suggestion I have is for you and your dh to wait until you're calm to make any decisions -- and it sounds like you are already doing that.

 

Your dh is probably suggesting ps because he's worried about all of the stress being placed on you, more than because he wants your ds to go there for any other reasons. He may feel that you need a break and that having ds out of the house for part of the day will help you calm down and relax a bit.

 

It is probably very hard for your dh to see the problems with your ds and not be able to fix them for you. And if he's not at home to see the "good times" when your ds is being sweet and cooperative, he may view the issues as being far worse than they actually are.

 

I'm glad you and your dh are able to discuss these things and I'm sure you'll make the right decision about your ds.

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My sons have been more of a challenge then my daughters and one of them was just like your son. He tested profoundly gifted, but was lazy and always disrupted our homeschool. You have my sympathy, it's so hard to go through that day in and day out.

 

Lots of good suggestions to try. If I was going through that again, I would homeschool the basic subjects in the morning and send my son to the public schools vocational program in the afternoon, so that he could keep busy learning to be a computer tech, welder (they are wildly in demand), or whatever appeals to him. Eventually he will catch up with himself and want to study, but cut yourself some slack now and try a different approach if you are open to alternative schooling.

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:grouphug:

 

A big chunk of physical activity really helps DS15. Chopping wood, running, whatever - it seems to "burn off" some of the rage. He's an aspie - no meds - so I know what you mean by the melt-downs. After two very tough years, we are starting to see some improvement in his self-control. He still gets angry, but can keep it polite most of the time.

 

Punishment is also problematic. Nothing impacts him unless we haul out the big guns (taking his computer time away) and he NEVER does anything he doesn't want to do without grumbling and griping. I have come to see this is part of his personality and (try!) to let it all just roll off me.

 

What does help? Lots of exercise (for both DS and for me!), early bedtime since it takes a while for him to settle at night, regular meals, and activities that play to his interests - robotics club and music right now. DS is in public school now because he is doing well. If he were doing poorly, he knows he would be back to homeschooling again.

 

:grouphug: and I second (or third) the idea of maybe needing his meds adjusted. Those growth spurts can play havoc.

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I found that growth spurts and particularly the hormonal influences of this age changed medication effectiveness,.

 

We found this to be true too. And just recently we found that not all generics are equal. Our pharm switched brands and it was a nightmare. We found a pharm with the previous brand and all is well again.

 

Praying you find a solution!

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I would probably express to him that all involved are frustrated and that the current way is not working. I would have a family discussion (when all were in a good mood) and decide as a family in a calm way how to move forward. At his age, I would let him have an opinion (virtual school, parent-led courses, distant learning, public school), whatever he wants to do that you would agree to. He definitely is of the age to take responsibility for his actions, behavior, and education. Something else to think about would be to lighten his load. He may feel overwhelmed by his work.:grouphug:

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How is he at all of his extracurricular classes and groups? Can he behave in those settings, and is just disrespectful to you? Or is he difficult always? That should tell you a lot about what he is capable of.

 

oh yes, exactly! he has modified his behavior in boy scouts greatly. he gets along with the other guys and is a den leader of a younger group of webelos. yes, this shows me he is capable. for years now, i have not let him use his difficulties as a crutch. i have to make myself not give in to that. me giving him excuses will not help him correct the behavior or function in society. you are absolutely correct in inquirying about this.

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:grouphug:

 

A big chunk of physical activity really helps DS15. Chopping wood, running, whatever - it seems to "burn off" some of the rage. He's an aspie - no meds - so I know what you mean by the melt-downs. After two very tough years, we are starting to see some improvement in his self-control. He still gets angry, but can keep it polite most of the time.

 

Punishment is also problematic. Nothing impacts him unless we haul out the big guns (taking his computer time away) and he NEVER does anything he doesn't want to do without grumbling and griping. I have come to see this is part of his personality and (try!) to let it all just roll off me.

 

What does help? Lots of exercise (for both DS and for me!), early bedtime since it takes a while for him to settle at night, regular meals, and activities that play to his interests - robotics club and music right now. DS is in public school now because he is doing well. If he were doing poorly, he knows he would be back to homeschooling again.

 

:grouphug: and I second (or third) the idea of maybe needing his meds adjusted. Those growth spurts can play havoc.

 

he goes to gym everyday after he does 2 subjects in the morning to get his large muscle groups going. i give him a break every 25 minutes to get up and move around, go outside, stuff like that. sometimes i have to tell him the break is for moving around and not sitting there. idk, about the medication. maybe an increase could be tried. i am thinking and can call his psychiatrist to discuss

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I would probably express to him that all involved are frustrated and that the current way is not working. I would have a family discussion (when all were in a good mood) and decide as a family in a calm way how to move forward. At his age, I would let him have an opinion (virtual school, parent-led courses, distant learning, public school), whatever he wants to do that you would agree to. He definitely is of the age to take responsibility for his actions, behavior, and education. Something else to think about would be to lighten his load. He may feel overwhelmed by his work.:grouphug:

we have decided to revamp the consequences he will encounter when not doing what he is suppose to. i feel like we need to do regroup, come up with plan again, stick to consequences and not alter. son will know punishment for his actions if he is so inclined. no arguing, no negotiation. my husband and i are working on this now. we had stuff in place, but i think things were getting laxed and we weren't sticking to our guns. these kind of teens can find the loop holes.

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My son is only 7, but he can be a handful. We have good days and bad days, but we are ACTIVELY training him to change his attitude and behavior. We have been doing this since about 4 years old, which is when he first started to become "strong-willed". Everyone tells me, "He will be a great leader someday."

 

I am REALLY hoping that puberty mellows him out a little bit.

 

DH and I have already discussed this.... if he is still behaving like that, as in, like what you described, by 13-14 years of age, he WILL be going to Military School. As in, boarding military school. And no, I'm not joking.

 

DH and I were both in the Army and have seen how military training can whip young boys into shape and turn them into men. I honestly believe that some of these boys are frustrated/angry/depressed b/c they are not being allowed to fulfill their potential and not getting worked hard enough. A teenage boy is raging with hormones and has all this strength and wants to go out and "hunt" and "fight".... he doesn't want to be treated like a little boy and follow stupid rules, that, in his eyes/mind, don't matter.

 

If I see that in my son, at that point, I will send him somewhere where that need can be met.... military school.

 

This is just my opinion..... but when kids are younger, there is lots of time for trial and error, for loving nurture, for trying to understand them and help them, etc. But, especially with boys, the teen years are crucial.... if you don't bunker down and do some serious, drastic work on teens with issues then it can mess up their whole lives. IMO, drastic times call for drastic measures.

 

Now, I don't have teenagers, but I was one just twelve years ago ;) I remember how it was. I see the outcome of all these people I went to school with and/or grew up with. Lots of kids (including myself) had issues... the ones who ended up with the best outcomes are the ones who had parents who did whatever it took to straighten them out. Or ones who joined the military. The rest of them are pretty much dead-beats.

 

I tell you, if I hadn't joined the military, and got put in MY place.... I would be a mess. One thing I loved about being in the military was being surrounded by people with great character and integrity.

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My son is only 7, but he can be a handful. We have good days and bad days, but we are ACTIVELY training him to change his attitude and behavior. We have been doing this since about 4 years old, which is when he first started to become "strong-willed". Everyone tells me, "He will be a great leader someday."

 

I am REALLY hoping that puberty mellows him out a little bit.

 

DH and I have already discussed this.... if he is still behaving like that, as in, like what you described, by 13-14 years of age, he WILL be going to Military School. As in, boarding military school. And no, I'm not joking.

 

DH and I were both in the Army and have seen how military training can whip young boys into shape and turn them into men. I honestly believe that some of these boys are frustrated/angry/depressed b/c they are not being allowed to fulfill their potential and not getting worked hard enough. A teenage boy is raging with hormones and has all this strength and wants to go out and "hunt" and "fight".... he doesn't want to be treated like a little boy and follow stupid rules, that, in his eyes/mind, don't matter.

 

If I see that in my son, at that point, I will send him somewhere where that need can be met.... military school.

 

This is just my opinion..... but when kids are younger, there is lots of time for trial and error, for loving nurture, for trying to understand them and help them, etc. But, especially with boys, the teen years are crucial.... if you don't bunker down and do some serious, drastic work on teens with issues then it can mess up their whole lives. IMO, drastic times call for drastic measures.

 

Now, I don't have teenagers, but I was one just twelve years ago ;) I remember how it was. I see the outcome of all these people I went to school with and/or grew up with. Lots of kids (including myself) had issues... the ones who ended up with the best outcomes are the ones who had parents who did whatever it took to straighten them out. Or ones who joined the military. The rest of them are pretty much dead-beats.

 

I tell you, if I hadn't joined the military, and got put in MY place.... I would be a mess. One thing I loved about being in the military was being surrounded by people with great character and integrity.

 

we would be open to military school. we have talked about it. its scarey because there are alot out there and don't know which ones are the best. don't know either if this is what our son needs. would he do well in this environment. he would still have social issues and i'm thinking he would still have trouble taking responsibility in the classes for his own learning. i know he would have punishment there if he isn't doing what he is suppose to, but that is what he has right now.

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I wonder if enrolling him in an online or correspondence school would be helpful? That way it could lift some of the responsibility off you and put it on your son? He will either do the work or he won't . . .

 

Perhaps you could help him find a mentor he could apprentice with in the areas he is interested in? That may also be helpful . . .

 

Sorry this age and personality type can be so hard. :grouphug:

i teach him biology. he does saxon with art reed dvd and i oversee it so i do have to be in the math, he does world geo, spanish, webdesign, keyboarding online but have to oversee. if not the time period is gone and nothing was done. he has a private teacher for english. last year i had a teacher at the house to teach and oversee, but i still had trouble at nite with homework. iwould have hired a teacher for this year too, if i could have found one.

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:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

I'm so sorry that you are so upset. I wish I had some great advice for you, but the only suggestion I have is for you and your dh to wait until you're calm to make any decisions -- and it sounds like you are already doing that.

 

Your dh is probably suggesting ps because he's worried about all of the stress being placed on you, more than because he wants your ds to go there for any other reasons. He may feel that you need a break and that having ds out of the house for part of the day will help you calm down and relax a bit.

 

It is probably very hard for your dh to see the problems with your ds and not be able to fix them for you. And if he's not at home to see the "good times" when your ds is being sweet and cooperative, he may view the issues as being far worse than they actually are.

 

I'm glad you and your dh are able to discuss these things and I'm sure you'll make the right decision about your ds.

 

yes, i think you are right about my husband suggesting ps. i told him that if we were going to back off of the homework and let him either sink or swim, we could do that with homeschooling too. with ps, our problems aren't going to magically disappear. ps school will not solve the problems. probably would add more if we weighed it out

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My sons have been more of a challenge then my daughters and one of them was just like your son. He tested profoundly gifted, but was lazy and always disrupted our homeschool. You have my sympathy, it's so hard to go through that day in and day out.

 

Lots of good suggestions to try. If I was going through that again, I would homeschool the basic subjects in the morning and send my son to the public schools vocational program in the afternoon, so that he could keep busy learning to be a computer tech, welder (they are wildly in demand), or whatever appeals to him. Eventually he will catch up with himself and want to study, but cut yourself some slack now and try a different approach if you are open to alternative schooling.

 

we have no choices like this in our state. you are either enrolled full time in ps , or you're not. no half way. our homeschool association wants it like this because they are scared the more the state/gov gives us the more regulations they will put on our homeschooling. they want complete autonomy in educating their children. i am not all for this, but it's the way it is.

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We found this to be true too. And just recently we found that not all generics are equal. Our pharm switched brands and it was a nightmare. We found a pharm with the previous brand and all is well again.

 

Praying you find a solution!

 

this very thing happened to us last week. got prescription filled at another pharmacy with another generic and son couldn't concentrate. i noticed it and didn't say anything. then my son said something about it. i had to call doc, get new script, pay medication out of pocket, the works. i don't believe generics are created equal. in a perfect world, i would use only brand names.

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Well, I have to say that just based on what you are describing, the only thing I find troubling for a 15yo boy is the fact that he pushes his protests too far. Breaking things and harassing you around the house twice a week are concerning, but getting upset with that frequency is not. In fact, 2x per week is pretty light in my opinion. Maybe he is bottling it up and then he blows. Have you explored ideas to help him work out his frustrations in real time in a less destructive manner?

 

It sounds like you have given this a lot of thought and put many great ideas into practice already. Putting him in PS may reduce the meltdowns you have to deal with (maybe), but it will create other issues that will leave you just as frustrated.

 

I am not sure whether modifying punishment is the answer. I wonder if there is any way you could work new freedoms into the mix. Can't really tell from reading, but it sounds like you don't give your son a lot of space to decide things for himself. (Of course, I could be totally wrong about this, but that's how it sounds to me.) A 15yo generally needs to be motivated by where he wants to go rather than what someone is telling him to do, at least a lot of the time. Obviously he has to meet minimum standards, but beyond that, he needs to have a lot of choice as to whether, what, and how hard he's going to study. JMHO.

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this is second year homeschooling, BUT we had a teacher last year with him doing everything that i am doing this year. if i could find another teacher, i would. who sounds frustrated, hubby or son??

My first thought was your son sounds very frustrated, but now that you mention it...so does your dh.

I don't know if I can relate to a lot of what you're going through since you say he is ADHD and medicated.

I don't know what you're using for homeschooling, but some people have liked having the burden taken off of them by using high school courses in which the kids send their material in, or do it on internet. It gives them interaction with and accountability to other adults. Keystone Academy was one, for instance. Oak Meadow is more of a relaxed homeschooling approach.

I see jelbe5 has suggested internet courses.

By the time kids are this age, they are wanting to exercise their own autonomy. If he hasn't really been given the benefit of that yet, it could be that he's feeling trapped. I'm just throwing that out there. I don't know what your situation is exactly.

Someone else suggested vocational technical type stuff, which in a lot of schools is a great help to those who are leaning toward auto repair, construction, etc. I have no idea what you could do to help that along other than checking with your community college since you said state law regarding homeschoolers means no extra favors within the ps system.

I'm sorry I'm way late getting back to the thread, I actually don't live here.:lol:

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My first thought was your son sounds very frustrated, but now that you mention it...so does your dh.

I don't know if I can relate to a lot of what you're going through since you say he is ADHD and medicated.

I don't know what you're using for homeschooling, but some people have liked having the burden taken off of them by using high school courses in which the kids send their material in, or do it on internet. It gives them interaction with and accountability to other adults. Keystone Academy was one, for instance. Oak Meadow is more of a relaxed homeschooling approach.

I see jelbe5 has suggested internet courses.

By the time kids are this age, they are wanting to exercise their own autonomy. If he hasn't really been given the benefit of that yet, it could be that he's feeling trapped. I'm just throwing that out there. I don't know what your situation is exactly.

Someone else suggested vocational technical type stuff, which in a lot of schools is a great help to those who are leaning toward auto repair, construction, etc. I have no idea what you could do to help that along other than checking with your community college since you said state law regarding homeschoolers means no extra favors within the ps system.

I'm sorry I'm way late getting back to the thread, I actually don't live here.:lol:

 

thank you so much!

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