Four-Eight-Four [dot org]

Good grief. I thought I might make it through the day without having a stupid news story to gripe about, but then I ran into this gem from the Times Free Press (I’m linking to the Chicago Tribune, below, because that’s where the story originated, and the TFP doesn’t seem to have it online). The article talks about a growing threat to the emotional wellbeing of our children, one that we are finally, and fortunately starting to recognize.

Peters suffers from school refusal behavior, usually a symptom of a serious anxiety disorder. For these youngsters — about 5 percent of the student population, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry — the mere thought of entering a classroom is so distressing that they will do almost anything to escape.

Uh, yeah. I was a shy kid. I learned to interact with people, slowly but surely, and it was a good thing. I dunno how it would have affected me if some psychiatrist had pinned some crazy label on my behavior, and medicated me up to help me. Geez people, take responsibility for your behavior, and stop trying psychologize it all. Some behaviors are simply unacceptable, not "mind diseases" and just need to be treated as such.

Read More: When skipping school is a malady, not misbehavior