childrensministry.com: When Wild Kids Show Up

6/23/2008 2:56:34 PM
MKRON said: I was so blessed to read this article. I am raising a grandchild who lives with us and is a "wild child." He has a great heart and loves Jesus. He goes to a christian school and his papa is a pastor and we get "many reports" . I have often said these children are special because of their unfortunate situations and I tend to have a burden for these types of children. You would think Christians would be a little more compassionate and sensitive to children who are dealt a bad hand in life so young but I have not found this to be true even untrue because Christians have a higher standard of expected behavior. I was blessed today and have a little more confidence because of your ministry.

6/2/2008 12:06:30 PM
cyjones said: noah.alsup: What a great challenge! You're reaching out beyond the walls of your church! Is there any way you can help your churched kids to embrace your vision and become part of the solution? Could they lead groups with churched and unchurched kids? Could they help brainstorm solutions? Could they pray for these kids? There are so many discipline strategies you could employ, but it seems to me that your biggest challenge is to get "buy-in" from your churched kids for reaching the lost first. Christine Yount Jones

6/2/2008 12:04:37 PM
cyjones said: craftond: Good point. Any time we boil a complex issue down to the #1 point, we make blanket statements that aren't true for every child. Thank you for reminding us that every child is unique! Christine Yount Jones

5/30/2008 8:54:37 AM
noah.alsup said: i have started jr. church ages 8-12. bus children are noisey and distracting.cooperative children do not like the distraction.what to do?

5/29/2008 8:10:46 PM
craftond said: i dont agree that the #1 reason of problem behavior is to get attention. Who are the experts that are supposedly saying this? How about Attention dephicit disorder, attention dephicit hyeractivity disorder, pervasive developmental disorder, etc. I don't claim to be an expert, only a Mother of a child with PPD and all of the misunderstanding that goes with it, but I say that until we see the true problem here, we will never see good results. These kids need someone to see that they really do have a problem and that they can be accepted just the way that they are. The way God made them. Very little research will show you that there are lots of kids with these disorders. Pray for these children and their families, these kids are a handful, but when people only see them as wild, it adds to the stress making the behavior harder for them to control.

5/29/2008 12:38:35 PM
PastorN8 said: A missing element in your article: the power fo prayer. Ultimately we are in a spiritual warfare over the souls of these kids. There are forces at work that seek to destroy kids but the power of Christ in us seeks to heal them. Love covers over a multitude of sins and the troubled kids in our churches most need to see that love of Christ in action through us - in firmess of discipline, hugeness of love, endless forgiveness and a seeking spirit that says, "I want to know you better because you are precious."

2/24/2008 12:02:47 AM
thanks said: Love the article thanks. I often change style when I see the i've lost the kids. Once I had a group of wild boys and corraled them all to play a game and they all calmed down. I think being flexible is definitely the key. Kathy

2/18/2008 9:03:14 AM
Judy K said: Thanks for this article and good insight into a problem that most of us probably have at one time or another in our ministry. I have 2 brothers (grades 2 and 4) right now and they really challenge all of us at times, so is good to get some different perspectives. Just a note though...as a nutritionist I would like to clarify that the "sugar high" gets a lot of hype, but there is really no solid evidence to back it up. There have been many studies done, but no results to support. While sugar is certainly not be the greatest, nutritionally, it has not been shown to contribute to problem behavior.

2/14/2008 9:16:08 AM
Tried everything, but... said: My problem with my wild kids is: there are tree family members, boys that are in my class. They interrupt the class with theirarguing and insulting each other. I've tried sepreating them, but they will do it across the table. Help Please!!

2/14/2008 8:16:19 AM
froggie said: My advise is to not expect immediate resutls. In fact, you may never see the results, but they are there. I had a wild child from 3rd grade through 5th grade. Yes, three years every Wed night and every Sunday I saw him. After he went on to Youth he came back to me one day and gave me a huge hug. Then he said, "I know you love me... because you were always there."

2/14/2008 6:53:07 AM
rjappel said: Thank you for this article as it is confirmation that our team is working in the right direction. We have a weeknight program that is open to children of the neighbourhood. Three of our children are attention deficit and we have been using similar methods. Now all three participate fully because we (the team) have decided to allow for freedom of expression, providing it does not interfere with other students. Participating in the song 'Hallelu, Hallelu' becomes and exciting adventure each night. Although the energy level of these kids leaves the team exhausted, their heart-filled prayers and beaming faces each week makes it all worthwhile.

2/2/2008 10:41:28 AM
ncompton said: Wonderful article that is much needed today. I have not seen any children's minstries that or aimed at children that have emotional or behavior problems. It seem that these children are offen have no place to embrace the love of Christ in their lives. You are right these children want attention however; it must be stress that they want attention because they are broken inside. Hidden roots of anger, sorrow, and worry are eating them up inside. They are looking for Jesus. God will help them if you will pray for them.

1/22/2008 8:32:38 PM
trentevans said: As a children's pastor, I have experienced this situation often. As you stated in the article, it is so important to learn how to relate to and engage these children in a positive manner. As Christ has shown us mercy and grace, it is equally important, in those disciplinary moments, to plainly state your expectation for their behavior and then let the situation go. It is completely unproductive to punish a child throughout the rest of the class time. Children can sense when they are unwanted or we dread their presence. In those moments of frustration with specific children, we need to extend grace and then move on in a postive way to send the message of love and acceptance.....not an extended punishment for the rest of the session. Karri Evans Elizabethtown, Ky.