If your child has ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) or bipolar, you're familiar with child behavior problems. If your child has signs of autism, ADHD or ADD (attention deficit disorder), Aspergers, or PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified), you may be seeing challenging behaviors. Five Warning Signs of Challenging Child Behavior: If you suspect that your child's difficult behavior is something more than just being a kid, these are the warning signs of a full-fledged challenging child. 1. Refuses to look up into your eyes. This is one of the early signs that your parent-child relationship is in trouble. He refuses to look up into your eyes because that gives you power. He doesn't trust you enough to give you that control.

Children with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), bipolar, autism, Asperger's syndrome, and PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified), can be very difficult. If your child has one of these conditions, he may try to push your buttons so you lose control and he wins. The only way out of this gridlock is to develop some refusal tactics of your own. Adopt these winning tactics that soothe your child and elevate your parenting style: 1. Refuse to argue. Your child's first line of defense (and distraction from the real issue at hand) is to start an argument. Counter his defensive tactic with your calm logic. For example, if you child doesn't want to do the dishes, he may say, "I didn't eat any of that stupid dinner so I'm not doing the stupid dishes. " You can say, "I hear you.

Parents who have bipolar disorder typically worry about the effect of the illness on their kids, but there is little information available about how to reduce the impact. It's doubly difficult because bipolar disorder is an inherent, built-in part of you as the child's parent. Here are some ways we can help children cope with our bipolar disorder and grow up normally. • Drip-feed information in small dollops on demand. Keep updating your explanation as the years go by and the children's understanding increases, as you may do with sex education. • Answer questions openly in a way that invites further questions. Answer the question and do it truthfully, fully and honestly. Then be prepared to answer any follow-up questions. This technique reduces bipolar disorder to a normal everyday matter-of-fact thing. • Give bipolar a nickname. In my online course for sufferers and their supporters I run a fun exercise where we all think of a nickname for our bipolar disorder. Calling it 'Bertha' or 'Gerry' allows us to separate ourselves from our ill-selves, and even laugh at it. That's an important activity for children, too. Find out from your child if they have a nickname for it, or encourage them to think of one, and use it when they see Bertha or Gerry arrive! Kids are one of the best alarm-bells that tell us we're becoming ill. • Have fun with your children – daggy, no-cost fun. Tell them it's their job to have fun, and not to be concerned about you. • Expect to have to change.

If your child has ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) or bipolar, you're familiar with child behavior problems. If your child has signs of autism, ADHD or ADD (attention deficit disorder), Aspergers, or PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified), you may be seeing challenging behaviors. Five Warning Signs of Challenging Child Behavior: If you suspect that your child's difficult behavior is something more than just being a kid, these are the warning signs of a full-fledged challenging child. 1. Refuses to look up into your eyes. This is one of the early signs that your parent-child relationship is in trouble. He refuses to look up into your eyes because that gives you power. He doesn't trust you enough to give you that control.