«Something is broken in your brain»

I tell

Sindy Schenk, 39, lives with her daughter, 6, and her husband in the canton of Aargau. The trained nursery school teacher was a very dreamy child and had bad experiences at school. Today, she recognises herself in her daughter.

"I was always last in everything at school. It never really bothered me personally, but my mum and the teacher agreed that something had to be done about it.

So one day - without me knowing anything about it - a man stood next to the teacher in the morning in fourth grade and told the whole class that there was something wrong with me. That's why I was so slow and he was there to REPAIR it! He took me into the next room. There he explained to me: «Your brain works like a computer and something is broken in your brain. I am the repairman. Just imagine that I'm rebooting your brain with a new disc.»

I still remember today that after I regained my composure, I shouted in his face in a rage: «You're crazy! Something is broken with you! There's nothing wrong with me and I like being so slow.»
I left the room and couldn't understand why others thought there was something wrong with me. That was a life-changing experience for me.

I liked and still like my slowness today because it is part of my personality. I am so slow because I find a new, infinite train of thought in every little thing. For example, when I tie my shoes, I ask myself why this knot holds, imagine the mechanics behind it, explore in my mind why it is different with different materials, what role friction plays in the process ... I ask myself who invented the knot ... It's like that with everything in my everyday life and I always want to know how everything works. However, I was never offered a strategy that would have been a real help rather than simply quenching my thirst for knowledge.

Today I know that I only made it because I have a very strong personality and I found someone in an older man with horses who appreciated all my positive qualities and never said a word about how long it took me to do everything, but how great it is that I fulfilled my tasks with so much precision, even mucking out.
Even though I wouldn't want to miss my slowness and dreamy, dawdling nature, I realise that to this day I sometimes unintentionally put a strain on the nerves of those around me. It is still difficult for me to be punctual and to focus on the task at hand, not to digress.

I recognise a mini version of myself in my six-year-old daughter when it comes to dawdling. She is also very dreamy and slow in life. At the nursery school talk, it was also mentioned that she would probably have difficulties at school. Now I'm in a real dilemma. On the one hand, I want her to stay as she is. On the other hand, I know what difficulties that will bring. My biggest fear is that she - like me - will know all the answers to tests, but will never be able to finish them in the allotted time. That puts you under enormous pressure.

I wonder how I can support my daughter without changing her. Hopefully her teachers will recognise the potential behind her dreamy nature: she already has a great general knowledge and her thought processes are wonderful. As a mum, I really want to make sure that she never forgets how to create these incredible dream worlds."

Read more about dreamy children:

  • «Ich wünsche mir, dass die Lehrpersonen nicht so viel am Stück erklären»
    Der 9-jährige Julin wäre froh, wenn es in seiner Klasse ruhiger zugehen würde und die Lehrerin sich mehr Zeit nehmen würde. In seinem liebsten Fach Mathe hingegen versteht er alles, auch ohne zuzuhören.
  • «Alle ärgern ihn und sagen, er sei ein Träumer»
    Raffaela, 38, lebt mit ihrem Mann Metin, 43, und dem gemeinsamen Sohn Can, 7, in Luzern. Weil Can oft unkonzentriert ist, in der Schule nicht zuhört, hat die Lehrerin eine Abklärung auf ADS empfohlen.
  • Verträumte Kinder in der Klasse
    Stille Kinder, die Schwierigkeiten haben, sich auf den Unterricht zu konzentrieren gehen im ­Schulalltag häufig unter. Wie es Lehrpersonen gelingen kann, diese Kinder dort abzuholen, wo sie stehen, zeigen die folgenden Beispiele aus dem Schulalltag.
  • Verträumte Kinder unter Druck
    Sich konzentrieren, zuhören, selbständig arbeiten: Manchen Schulkindern bereitet das grosse Mühe. Warum neigen Kinder zum Tagträumen? Wie gehen Eltern und Lehrpersonen am besten mit einem verträumten Kind um? Und wie schaffen es Familien, im Alltag innezuhalten und gemeinsam zu träumen?
  • So unterstützen Sie verträumte Kinder
    Kleine Träumer sind kreativ und fantasievoll, aber oft vom Alltag überfordert. Und in der Schule wird ihre Neigung zum Problem. Wie Eltern ihrem verträumten Kind helfen und es unterstützen können.
  • Krafttraining für den Willen
    Was hilft, damit wir an einer Aufgabe hartnäckig dranbleiben, Ziele weiterverfolgen, auch wenn der Weg dorthin steinig ist? Ein haushälterischer Einsatz und das bewusste Trainieren unserer Willenskraft.
  • Mein Kind trödelt!
    Wenig bringt Eltern so sehr auf die Palme wie Kinder, die trödeln. Warum kann sich die Tochter nicht einfach anziehen und an den Frühstückstisch kommen? Wie man Trödlern sanft auf die Sprünge hilft.