Since writing the book No:
Why Kids – of All Ages – Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It, I
have spoken to parent and community groups all over the country. One of the topics that I often talk about is
Discipline Deficit Disorder or what I call DDD.
Too many of our kids have run-away cases of DDD. Signs of it pop up everywhere: classrooms
where teachers spend more time addressing behavior issues than teaching, a
kid’s overgrown sense of entitlement, teens opting out of harder classes, general
rudeness where “make my day”, replaces “have a nice day”, inability to stick to
a task, escalating cases of the “gimmies”…
Why should we be concerned about DDD? Because DDD robs kids of self-reliance and
self-discipline, skills they need to be successful in school and in life. It also undermines a child’s true sense of
self-esteem. True self-esteem is built
on a child’s ability to handle and accomplish the tasks they face in life.
On a more community level, DDD results in too many of our
teachers leaving the profession because of student behavior and demanding
parents. It also impacts our country’s
economic future. How are our kids going
to compete in the global marketplace if they avoid the “tough” subjects in high
school and college or if they do not have the self-discipline they need to be
successful on the job or in a career?
The lessons in self-discipline begin early, they begin small, but they
are important and they start with No.
