What if you have a child who is well-mannered, makes straight A’s at school, and is successfully involved in all sorts of extracurricular activities, but one day, that child comes home and begins cursing like sailor and curses at you in the process? I wonder, how would you respond? Would you think to yourself that since he is successful in many things, generally well-mannered, and a fantastic student, there is nothing to worry about? Would you reason that this is just one problematic thing, and he will probably grow out of it? You almost assuredly would not respond that way. Most would immediately drop everything to respond because of a right desire to put a stop to that kind of seriously disrespectful behavior.
Imagine another scene with the same child who possesses all of the same wonderful characteristics. However, instead of cursing like a sailor, you have trouble getting him out of the bed in the morning. He consistently sleeps in, even into the afternoon if you even fight the battle to make him get up. You have trouble getting him to go to bed as well.
Whenever you give him a job, he is easily distracted, has difficulty getting started, and rarely adequately finishes a work task. How would you respond? Would you think to yourself that it’s no big deal? After all, look at how he is excelling in so many things. Would you laugh about it thinking that that’s just the way kids and teens are? Surely, he will grow out of it.
