Discovery Health is devoting an entire week to television programs that explore “Adventures in Parenting”. It started September 13, 2010, and the series will end on September 17, 2010. Every night this week, you can watch a special that profiles parents who are dealing with different family issues. Some of these programs explore what it is like to parent a child who has a special need.
Parenting any child, even children who are considered “normal”, can be difficult at times. There will be days when your toddler doesn’t want to eat. There will be days when your child decides to throw a loud temper tantrum in a public place, causing everyone else to turn around and stare. There will be days when your teenager will be rude and use hurtful language towards you. No one ever said parenting would be easy. Not to say that your entire parenting experience will always be stressful and difficult, just that there will be some days that fit that description.
If your child has been diagnosed with a special need, whether the special need is physical, psychological, or a combination of both, this can be extremely hard for a parent to accept. Parenting a child who has special needs, whatever those needs are, comes with it’s own difficulties. There is often a feeling that other people just do not understand what is going on, why your child behaves in a certain way, or how difficult it can be to watch your child, with all of his or her differences, struggle to make friends.
Discovery Health understands that “not all challenges are created equal” when it comes to parenting. This channel has created some documentaries that show the remarkable parenting challenges of parents who are confronting some difficult issues that many parents never have to face. You may want to watch these stories, even if your child does not have the special need that is described in a particular show. This is a great way to gain some understanding of what parents who have child with a special need are dealing with. Or, you might want to tune in to episodes that closely match your own experience as a parent, to gain some knowledge, and to feel less isolated in your daily struggles.
“Tourette’s Uncovered” aired September 13, 2010. This show focuses on four boys who have Tourette’s Syndrome. The cameras follow the parents, as they try and help their child cope with this disorder. “My Child Won’t Talk” shows the experience of children who have a little understood condition called selective mutism. “My Kid’s Smarter Than Me” explores the experience of parents whose children have an IQ that is extremely high. Both of those shows will air on September 15, 2010. “Big Kids”, which will air on September 16, 2010, profiles the lives of two obese children, and their struggles. These are just a few of the shows that are part of the Discovery Health “Adventures In Parenting” series.
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