School and Home Behavior

Has any of you ever had the problem that your child was "well behaved" at school despite extremely angry outbursts at home? One
of the major issues that I have been having is that my daughter does not present much of a difficulty at school. It seems that she
tends to escalate as the day goes on. I wondered whether this was fairly common.

It has been devastating to me as a parent to be viewed as "over-reacting" when I know how my child acts a certain way but, others cannot believe it. I
am thankful that I am NOT alone. There are many times that I have thought...if she can control it at school then, she can control it at home. I think that
it is hard for anyone to understand. But, I have graciously offered for the teacher to take her home for an evening so that she could see what I mean!
Of course, she did not take me up on the offer.

I do believe this is common. My son is the same way. Last year I told the school about some of his problems. Amazingly, he was fine all year in school.
At home was a different story. He recently had a melt down at school. He is currently in the hospital. On weekends he is more tolerable in the
morning, but as the day goes on, I am ready to choke him. ;0) By evening I can count on several fits of rage.

-Papolos & Papolos-"The Bipolar Child"
"While in adults the illness is usually characterized by discrete periods of extreme euphoria followed by episodes of severe depression, usually separated
by periods of normalcy, bipolar children may show no discernible mood cycles but rather sustained or rapidly fluctuating periods of high energy, volatility,
oppositionality, grandiosity, irritability, anxiety and explosiveness. It is not uncommon for these children to have prolonged and violent tantrums, often
triggered by the word "no."

Families with a bipolar child can find that life at home revolves around the seemingly endless demands and needs of this child. Some children hold their
emotions in check at school but fall apart in the safety and comfort of their own homes. This discrepancy in behavior can lead outsiders, including school
personnel and extended family, to assume that faulty parenting is responsible for the child’s difficult behavior at home."