All About Your Child

Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be.~ David Bly

As children develop and learn to communicate with family and friends, it is important for parents to teach the children how to behave in an acceptable way.

Children seek guidelines from their parents about what is acceptable and what is not, and usually imitate their behaviour.

Most parents experience problems of disobedience as their children learn to be independent and may begin to resist them.

Although this is a normal part of child development, dealing with these situations can be very challenging for many parents.

Even though children misbehave at times, they still want and need their parents’ love and approval to develop as happy, confident and responsible children.

So, it is important to show children that they are still loved and valued but that some of their behaviours are not.

Children almost always seek their parents’ acceptance in the things they do. There are ways that parents can help their children deal with the disappointments and frustrations they feel when they do not get what they want and there are techniques that parents can use to encourage children to behave in positive ways.

Find out over the week as I share 6 proven ways to manage your child’s misbehaviour…

Communicate
When your child does something wrong, talk to him calmly about the rule he has broken. Ask him to tell you the correct behaviour expected. Let him know your expectations. Next, tell him the consequences of his misbehaviour.

Compliment with action
Rewarding can take the form of praising, noting positive behaviour and occasional treat of gift. In this way, good behaviour is reinforced. However, do not let your child assume that he should be materially rewarded for his good behaviour.

“Quiet Time”
Isolating is when you put the child away for a brief period of time until he agrees to behave but this should not be for too long. It will also give you time to regain control of the situation. Some ways of isolation are standing in a corner and staying alone in a room. Reconciliation should follow to reassure the child.

Punishment
There are two main forms of penalties:

1) Deprivation – refers to withdrawal of privileges eg. no watching of cartoons.

2) Impose Responsibilities – especially for older children; they can be made to clean up the mess they created or be given extra chores…(then mummy can rest..*wink*)