Children and Behavioral Problems: Is Your Child an Indigo?

The term "Indigo Child" will mean different things to different people. While I'm not a health care professional of any kind, I am a parent of a very "difficult" child that I understand better that anyone else EVER could. I am the expert of my own kid, period.

Ever since the first year of preschool, my son has been labeled with behavior problems. They say he's non-compliant, and has problems following directions. Over the past 4 years in school he's been on several different "behavior plans" set up by the school. None have ever worked 100%.

It wasn't until a friend of mine mentioned the term "Indigo" that I began to question if there wasn't something slightly "different" about him. I did my research on the term. I compared the basis characteristics of Indigo children which fit him perfectly. Things like being extremely smart in certain areas of interest, mood swings, an attachment to animals (I've also been baffled how quickly he tames cats and how they seem drawn to him regardless how little he is), and so on. Honestly I finally felt like someone was describing my child. It was a huge relief to see my son was not the only kid who acts the way he does.

Often times an Indigo child is misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD, which we did question at one point in time. After reading some of the "symptoms", I felt like that label just didn't fit him. He loves to read and can sit quietly when he wants to (like on the computer), but is also a very active child that loves to be independent. True sometimes he just can't sit still, but he retains so much information it's amazing.

Indigo child, in my opinion, is being "misdiagnosed" as much as ADD/ADHD. Some parents label their kids as Indigo because they think their children are special, and need that validation. Well of course their children are special, all kids are! I've also heard many say "all my kids are Indigos", which I think is a stretch. Almost all kids are going to have at least one or two Indigo traits, but not all. I have two kids, and only one of them is an Indigo. I do believe my other child is special, but in the way all kids are. She is not an Indigo.