Some children have experienced difficult life experiences resulting in them being wary and mistrustful of adults. In school they may present as aggressive, manipulative, controlling, bossy and fearless. They may challenge staff, say they don’t care and appear frightening to other children (and staff). The reality for these children is very different to how they present and they often feel very scared, anxious and frightened. Unfortunately they have developed their behaviours as a way of masking their feelings and not feeling safe enough to show the world how they really feel.
The next time you are confronted with a child displaying some or all of these behaviours, try and remember there may be a very scared and vulnerable child hiding behind the behaviour and try and respond to them accordingly.