Bookworming

Program grad Ashley wrote us about the time she was laughing with friends in her fifth grade class when somebody told her, "Your laugh is stupid." That one comment triggered a change in Ashley. She became self-conscious about her laugh. She retreated into her books and became, in her own words, a nerd and a brain. Her friendships withered and her world got smaller. She told herself she could pretend to go anywhere within the worlds of her books, but those pretend worlds didn't help her grow or discover herself. She began to feel alone, left behind, invisible.

Over time Ashley found that, even though books are great, they make lousy places to hide. "I just love to read" from a socially withdrawn teen means about the same as "I just love food" from an overeater. The behavior has little to do with love and everything to do with avoiding pain.

Parents of young people who bookworm often worry that their sons and daughters are becoming unreachable. What if they never come out from behind that book? Parents see that opportunities for social development are passing by and they worry that the longer their teens wait to get back into socializing the more difficult it will be for them to catch up.

Young people who withdraw do miss out on a lot of opportun-ities to develop socially and academically. Since they're not forging connections with their peers, they're losing out on social skills. As they sink deeper and deeper into solitude, they get further out of the habit of speaking up for themselves and expressing their wishes. They're also missing out on building the kind of support network everyone needs. If they don't have friends, who's around to tell them they're okay as they are?

Much of the content of this website is excerpted from the book The Seven Biggest Teen Problems And How To Turn Them Into Strengths - Copyright © 2006 by Bobbi DePorter. All rights reserved. No part of the content of the website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. SuperCamp®, Quantum Learning® and Learning Forum® are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.