28 The Explosive Childschool, being absentminded, and slow in getting ready
for school in the morning) and impulsive (calling out
answers in class, difficulty awaiting their turns, and inter-
rupting and intruding on others). However, disorganiza-
tion and poor planning also explain the difficulty many
children have in responding effectively to life’s problems
and frustrations. What’s the main thing your brain must
do when faced with a frustration? Solve the problem that
frustrated you in the first place. It turns out that prob-
lem solving requires a great deal of organization and
planning. First, you need to identify the problem you’re
trying to solve (it’s very hard to solve a problem if you
don’t know what the problem is), then consider a range
of possible solutions to the problem, and then anticipate
the likely outcomes of those solutions so as to choose a
course of action.
Many children are so disorganized in their thinking
that they’re unable to identify the problem that’s frus-
trating them. Many are so disorganized that they can’t
think of any more than one solution to a problem. Many
are so impulsive that, even if they could think of more
than one solution, they’ve already done the first thing
that popped into their heads. The bad news? Your first
solution is often your worst. Good solutions require or-
ganization and impulse control. So there are a lot of kids
out there who are notorious for putting their “worst foot
forward.” Many of these disorganized, impulsive kids ev-