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Pike
Syndrome
What’s the Pike
Syndrome? Scientists did an experiment where they took a pike
and put him into a large fish tank with an ample supply of
minnows. Whenever the pike became hungry, he merely had to
open his mouth and snap up a minnow. Then the scientists put
a glass jar over the pike. They wanted to determine how long
the pike would continue to hit the glass jar striking out after
minnows before he became discouraged. For quite a while the
pike would strike out after the minnows and crash into the
jar. This behavior continued for quite some time until the
pike gradually did it less and less. When the pike finally
stopped, the scientists removed the jar. The pike sank to the
bottom of the tank and just laid there. Once again with the
jar removed, the minnows started swimming freely around the
pike, even brushing up against his mouth. Not once did the
pike strike out. The scientists’ intention was to teach
the pike the rules of their game – when the jar is down,
relax; when the jar is removed, feast. But the pike just lay
on the bottom of the tank and literally starved to death. Minnows
everywhere for the asking, and the pike just starved to death.
So many children give
up before they really even get started just because they don’t
know how to play the game. They become a pike starving to death
with minnows everywhere.
Our children were
born for success and happiness, not discouragement. If our
children want to win, then they will have to know how to play
the game. Keep it simple and operate the way life is supposed
to operate.
Telltale signs of
uninspired children: tired, moody, critical, unhappy, poor
grades, can’t find anything to do, dabbling with drugs,
misbehaving at school, being rude, cursing, talking back, destructive,
no respect for the personal belongings of others. Yet these
uninspired kids were born to win. How do you make all uninspired,
unhappy kids inspired and happy? You teach them that through
change they can get what they want.
Whenever I meet parents
who report that their children continually whine and pout,
I tell them that the children have a wining attitude. That
always shocks them. If kids haven’t learned how to effectively
communicate their needs, whining is a wining attitude. Taking
responsible action must be learned because nobody out in the
real world is going to just feed them what they need and want.
Parents may supply their needs while the kids are learning,
but the relationship cannot continue. Kids are destined to
fend for themselves, and growing up without having learned
how to achieve through responsible action can be a very hopeless
and desperate situation – a situation that could even
motivate kids to escape (Skinner, 1971).
Children escaping
their responsibility have become a national disaster that touches
all our lives. They want that quick fix to wash all those blues
away. From rural farm towns to major cities, kids are turning
to drugs and alcohol, running away from home, and committing
suicide at an alarming rate. The story of a troubled child
doesn’t merit the evening news anymore, its neighborhood
gossip.
Learning how the game
operates isn’t easy but it is an easier alternative to
some of the escape routes our children are choosing today.
It is a learned behavior, not an inborn privilege. Raising
kids for success is teaching children how to become responsible
for their actions. It’s not an option, it’s mandatory. |
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