This is not intended to be a ranting diatribe against working with children, or against children in general.
Whether it is as a sports coach, an after school leader, a tutor, a summer camp counselor or as a school teacher, the "Kid Business", as I like to call it, is among the most rewarding and fulfilling professions a person can be involved in.
Watching a youngster's face light up with joy after acing a test, or giving you a high five after getting that game-winning hit (or even hitting the ball for the first time), is indeed something that makes it all worthwhile; serving as the reason why one chooses working with kids as a profession.
I know this is so because for over fifteen years, I was in the kid business. I taught physical education for nearly ten years, coached various sports at the youth level for nearly 20, and also served as a tutor, an instructional aide, and an after school teacher.
While my experiences in this profession were satisfying in many ways, there were also many experiences and pitfalls I have had that were not so nice; specifically pertaining to the negative behavior types that children at times display at school or on the playground.
These are the behavior types that annoy teachers, coaches, camp counselors, and recreation leaders to no end, oftentimes driving them away from the education, sports, and parks & recreation fields. These annoying types have often led one to get so fed up with the youngsters he or she is teaching, coaching, or supervising that disillusion sets in and the profession is abandoned.
I have personal firsthand knowledge of this, because it was the kids with these annoying behavior types that ultimately drove me out of the "Kid Business".
I have listed the seven types of behavior pitfalls among children that can drive a person crazy, frustrated, and fed up with the whole scene. Rest assured, if you are ever employed at a school, park, summer camp, or after school program, you are guaranteed to encounter all of these types at some point
1. THE WHINER
This is the type of child that particularly annoyed me over the years, the kind who's used to getting his way, gets extremely upset - sometimes to the point of tantrums - when he doesn't - and who is often (but not always) enabled by his parents who not only kowtow to his every whim and want, but who also whine and throw a hissy fit when they don't get their way.
A universal phrase used by this type when something happens or when told "no" is "That's Not Fair!"
The epitome of selfishness, his bratty ways illustrates the fact that he often does not care about anyone in his group or class; like Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, it's all about him and only him.
I've encountered plenty of kids like this over the years. I remember one little girl at a school where I worked - one day it took a co-worker of mine over 30 minutes to get her to leave the playground and go to the next activity because she didn't get her way over something.
From that day on, my opinion of that girl was quite low.
2. THE TATTLETALE
Like Cindy in that Brady Bunch episode, this type is a sand-in-your-shorts level of irritating.
More than anything else, these youngsters are meddlers - they poke their noses in other kids' affairs and run to the teacher/coach/leader over minor, insignificant things that have nothing to do with them personally; even if the kids being told on are breaking the rules, they tend to not understand that unless it is something extreme like bullying, fighting, stealing, or jumping off a roof, what other kids do should not be a concern to them.
This is in contrast, of course, to going to an adult when somebody does something bad to them directly, like punch them or call them names or steal something from them. In cases like those, that is not tattling.
At the heart of the matter here is the tattler's need for attention. That's why these kids often stick their noses where they don't belong, causing the adult to want to tell them "Mind your own business!"
Every school, particularly at the elementary level, has a group of this type. So consider yourself warned.
3. THE DEVIANT
This is the type of kid who constantly tries to get away with stuff; breaking rules, not listening or following directions, generally trying to see what they can get away with in the classroom or on the playground.
This type especially angered me because they usually lied to get out of things, such as denying that they had stolen something when it was clear that they had, or saying that no homework was given in their class when it really was and they just didn't want to do it; that was a common line that many youngsters used at another after school program where I worked.
