Among the 3 boys we adopted from foster care is a child who fancies not only power, but control. He is the 2nd youngest of our kids, but pushing for adulthood. This kid has what one might refer to as breathtaking anger management difficulties. He’s fine when things go his way, but throw a monkey in the wrench and all hell breaks loose.
Aside from the troubling (to say the least) aggression issues, there lies an addiction of sorts, to video games. Perhaps it’s the endorphin rush or the accompanying gratification of having that control he so desperately seeks. But in any case, the addiction is there. Take away said gaming potential and look out!
One weekend morning, this youngster had been playing one of his favorite games and it became clear to us that he neither completed any of the required chores set in place in order to earn said video game time, nor did he even ask permission to play. We brought this to his attention and requested he put the game away for the day, as the well-known rules were clearly not adhered to.
Enter the dragon. Sans turning green and tripling his size, this once well-mannered child seemed to transform into the giant, green, and always angry character portrayed in both movies and comics; who’s name I’ll omit, as I don’t need a lawsuit. He then proceeded to, shall we say, redecorate his room. This was carried out via not only punching and kicking holes in all his walls, but then removing, with the fragility of an angry giant, large chunks of drywall, exposing electrical wires and wall studs.
This impromptu renovation project lasted for the better part of an hour before fatigue, and possibly self-realization, finally set in.
The stunt required over $800 in drywall repair, and cost him his gaming system for several years to come. Not to mention having to be seen by a specialist for his lack of control, and poor decision making.
You’d think that would have ended his career as a renovator, but that was only one of numerous incidents to come.