Effects on the Family of a RAD Child

• Dreams of the perfect loving, caring family are squashed. There is no such thing as perfect family, but a RAD family can become quite dysfunctional.
• A RAD child will play one parent off the other, which could result in a rift between parents.
• Siblings often feel ignored or overlooked as the RAD child takes up so much of the parent’s time. Schedule, daily or weekly, one-on-one quality time for each child in the family.
• Friends, family, church members become critical of parenting and attitude.
• Due to child’s disruptive behaviour, parents often withdraw from social functions.
• Siblings and pets can often be targeted and threatened. It is extremely important for RAD children to have their own room - for their own good as well as the safety of siblings.
• Family events, like Christmas, can be filled with anger and frustration due to RAD behaviour.
• Parents appear to be unfair, strict and sometimes hostile, as parenting skills used with healthy children do not work with RAD children.