A paper tiger or a real tiger which one is a threat? The obvious answer of course would be a real tiger, but when a child grows up in an environment where they constantly exposed to stressors, such as unwanted sexual touch, neglect, not having family support or love, being cursed out, abandonment, physical abuse the list goes on, their brain conditions itself to be ready for all threats whether fake or real.
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Anything could set them off in attack mode because their developing brain cannot tell the difference between a paper tiger or a real tiger. When you have a child or a teenager that constantly gets into trouble, is disrespectful, steals, skips school, drinks, smokes and you tell them “stop doing this or that”, they may immediately go into attack mode.
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We as adults need to understand that some of these behaviors are symptoms of what’s going on in their lives. The most important factor to offset these types of behaviors according to various research, is having at least one stable, caring relationship with a parent, caregiver or other trusted adult who loves that child or teen unconditionally. This doesn’t mean you make excuses and tolerate their behavior, but you are willing to dig deeper, into why they are behaving a particular way, so you can change their lives for the better.
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“All good men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine”
Jim Rohn
