Parents often feel stressed about dealing with child behavior problems.Most parents learn from experience and making mistakes how important it is to be consistent when dealing with child behavior problems. Not only is consistency important when handling child behavior problems, following through, being firm and assigning consequences is crucial.
It is extremely important that both parents agree on a strategy to deal with bad child behavior. Both parents need to be involved so that they are both on the same page and apply consequences consistently in similar situations.
by sitting down and talking with their children, parents can communicate consistency by talking about the expectations for the child behavior and the consequences of disobeying the rules. Of course it is important to make sure that the children understand the expectations and consequences clearly.. Both parents should agree that the intended consequences for any occurrence of bad child behavior is fair, and that they apply it consistently in the firm and calm manner. Iit is important that children do not overhear parents arguing or disagreeing about ways of dealing with their children’s behavior problems.
This is because children will attempt to manipulate the situation to their advantage if they sense this agreement between their parents.. Children can be very adept at playing one parent off against another and this should be avoided at all costs.
The best way to teach children about good child behavior is for parents to be good examples themselves.. Children learn value and belief systems by watching parents rather than listening to instructions. Most learning is “caught rather than taught” which is why it is important for parents to be both in agreement about how they will deal with child behavior problems.
If parents get into the habit of dealing with their children’s bad behavior by screaming at them to be quiet, or spanking them for hitting, they will discover that such behavior is imitated and thought as “normal” by their children. When parents become angered by their children’s behavior and behave out of strong emotion it is being a hypocritical and will be ineffective in dealing with their children’s bad behavior
By deciding ahead of time what the appropriate parental response will be to bad child behavior, and then implementing it consistenly through child discipline, parents can avoid the situation. For example using a “time out” technique when bad child behavior occurs is more appropriate and effective than the use of spanking.
Child discipline strategies work effectively with the child is young may not work as the child matures. Some situations may require a different approach and so parents need to be sensitive to know when rules should be modified or abolished altogether, and when consequences need to be adjusted.
Recent Comments