“You’re probably thinking I went crazy in the daycare office, demanding to know who was biting my daughter. That I threatened to remove her from their care. I did none of those things. ‘How would you feel if your kid was the biter?’ my mom asked. The answer is: terrible. I’m sure the mother of this child thinks I hate her. I absolutely do not. But please try. The school cannot ‘fix’ your child.”
‘Your child has bite marks,’ the injury report read. She was bitten 5 times, then pushed down the stairs.’: Mom offers empathy to ‘biting child’ parents, ‘nobody in their right mind is judging you’
‘Do you have a son in Idaho?’ I instantly knew my son was gone. He took his life after a silly argument.’: Father says son’s death by suicide feels ‘unreal’ after his struggle with mental illness, alcohol and substance abuse
“I heard a knock on my door. I opened and saw a young policeman. He told me he had a phone number I needed to call. I quickly realized we had trouble. The officer claimed he didn’t know what it was about (doubtful). I called the number – it was answered by a person at the Boise morgue.”
‘I have the ‘wild child.’ The one that’s loud. That NEVER listens to ‘no.’ I feel guilty. ‘Was I too hard on him today?’: Woman claims ‘wild child’ moms are ‘trying harder than you know’
“I was once the person that would say, ‘That kid wouldn’t act like that if they were disciplined.’ But OH did God have a plan of teaching me a lesson I didn’t know I needed to learn, and making me eat those words.”
‘My daughter morphed overnight. My happy girl became dead-eyed, hateful. Her pupils were dilated and dark. I felt like I lost my daughter. We couldn’t figure out how to make it stop.’
“New issues kept popping up. Screeching, laughing for no reason, wetting the bed. She couldn’t finish her sentences. She’d think all types of disturbing thoughts about hurting her little sister. I had to explain to my 5-year-old why she didn’t want to play with her anymore. I felt like a failure of a mom. I knew I had to find answers.”
‘He literally turned into a rabid wild animal! His face looked evil. I couldn’t believe this was our sweet boy.’: Son diagnosed with PANDAS disorder
“He came home from school a different boy. He wanted to hide behind the couch. He snapped and growled at his siblings. ‘Did something happen at school?,’ I asked him. ‘No,’ he replied, crying his eyes out. We started noticing unusual symptoms in our younger son too. Little did I know, this was just the beginning of our nightmare. I just didn’t know what to do to help him. One of the ladies suggested I look into PANDAS.”
‘I received a random card with a note. ‘I pray for you every day.’ My job is very hard to do. People don’t understand that. Special education is a totally different ball game.’
“My students come into the classroom yelling, hitting, kicking, and screaming. Many people assume we do the work for our kids because they think they can’t do it themselves. Not everyone is cut out for this kind of classroom.”
‘I thought she was crazy. I got a text from my dad. ‘Your mom thinks Spencer’s tics are because of strep throat.’ I blew her off. Suddenly, he began wetting the bed nightly.’
“We had absolutely no idea what was going on. His behavior was changing. He’d been in daycare since he was 12 weeks old and LOVED his school. Now he’d cling to us at drop off and require 15 hugs before we could – with him still screaming and crying- finally leave him. We assumed he was ‘going through a phase.’ I felt like we were ‘losing’ him.”
‘No, mommy. You obey ME!’ My son was LOSING. HIS. MIND. Tears were flowing, arms flailing. He threw his sandwich on the ground in protest. All I could think was, ‘I’m failing.’
“Mom shamers lined up with judgemental eyes. The grocery line was never-ending. My friend and her sweet, well-behaved daughter began quietly cleaning up their lunch. ‘If you do it this way, they wouldn’t be acting like that.’ Within five minutes, I raised my white flag.”
