My work affords me endless encounters with families that are in differing stages of disrepair. I enjoy this part of my job - not because these families are hurting, but because God allows me to take part in the mending of broken units.
Oft-times, the kids are identified as the "problem" in these families. Many of the kids I work with have backgrounds of trauma and abuse. And since these children have grown up with so much chaos, they tend to find chaotic situations to be their safe place - their "normal," if you will. Kids like these often seek to create chaos wherever they go, and they readily prey upon the loopholes in their parents' reasoning in order to split them and manipulate situations. These are learned behaviors, survival skills to help them get what they need. So it's no wonder that the "normal" styles of parenting rarely work with these fragile souls.
