Teddy was a truly cranky 6 year old. He never felt like he was good at anything. His brain raced along faster than his ability to engage with the world around him. He made a lot of mistakes at school, had a lot of conflict with peers, over seemingly trivial things... and was sent to the principal’s office a lot. He had intelligence to burn, charm when he chose it, and a loving family (admittedly with a bossy older brother) and caring teachers. But the only thing that delighted him was “screen time.” Especially the Wii.
Then one day… he discovered his scooter. It didn’t require the “get ready” steps that bike and roller blades did… just a helmet. He was as fast as his big brother. He felt like he could fly. It was always in the car, and could be parked wherever he was at school.
He would spend hours after school practicing his “short track times”. He was happy to get in the car and drive to school, since he could enjoy the scooter the ¼ mile from parking space to his line. He could do tricks and the other kids started to bring their scooters to school. He spent time outdoors. He ate more. He slept better. Other kids started bringing their scooters and Teddy taught them tricks he had first learned from Wii Winter Olympics. The playground became a merry mass of first graders in motion. Rapid motion :-)
A few weeks passed… Teddy was stopped on the playground one morning on his way to his line, and told he was not allowed to ride his scooter at school anymore. (He could walk it.)
His mom went to go ask the principal reason for this and was told “it was for safety”. His mom tried to explain this to Teddy. He promised that he rode carefully and would be extra careful from now on. His teacher tried to explain that in addition to caring about the safety of others, this was about respecting everybody’s rights by following rules.
But it didn’t compute in his brain. He figured he had done something bad. He became cranky, lost his appetite, and had trouble sleeping again. (In one of the last glimpses of humor and self awareness, he asked if the principal was a friend of Mrs. Gorf - of Wayside School fame -- who only liked kids to be quiet and still and round like apples.)
His pediatrician suggested that Ritalin would help him become more successful at school.
The playground is again empty after school – except for the neighborhood teens riding their bikes, and the nannies with toddlers.
Teddy is inside… waiting for screen time.
Cranky. Sedentary. But safe.
This is a true story. Names have been changed, but not much else.
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