8 Steps to Good Child Behaviour!
1. Establish House Rules Make simple rules for your child. Start with a few things we do and don't do. Discuss them with your child. 2. Prevention Is Better Than Cure If you feel that your child's behaviour is beginning to get out of control, nip it in the bud by distracting your child's attention onto a positive activity or game. 3. Understand Your Child's Behaviour Define simply and clearly any difficult behaviour. Keep a diary of what led up to the behaviour and what immediately followed it. From this, see if there is a pattern. What are the triggers and consequences which might be keeping the behaviour going? DON'T blame yourself but work at changing your responses. 4. Discipline With Short Time-Outs Try to view discipline in a different way e.g. if a rule is broken, discipline with a time out a short, quiet time alone, without play. Alternatively ignore minor behaviour difficulties as your attention will often inadvertently encourage the very behaviour you want to stop. 5. Take Five When tensions and anger rise in you or your child take five. Take five minutes to cool down and to ask yourself, Why am I getting so angry? Try to identify the real problem, then find the solution. Always control your temper. 6. Never Strike In Anger Research has shown that hitting your child does not help, and can do more damage. Try to avoid striking your child in anger. Smacking is not effective in reducing poor behaviour, as it does not teach children good behaviour. 7. Don't Yell or shout at children Try to avoid yelling at your children in anger. Do not put down your children. If they break a rule, tell them what they did wrong and why that makes you angry. Be angry at what they did, NOT at who they are. 8. Get Away When you feel frustrated, angry or uncontrollable, let your feelings out safely away from your children. Get out. Take a walk. Do not stay alone with your children when you are overwhelmed. Get help and support. |
Does Genes Influence Child Behaviour?
Learning to teach your child..... | Understanding Child Behaviour..
| Many different things have an impact on a child's behaviour. Genes Some children are naturally more lively and excitable than others. They may be easily distracted and enjoy company rather than spending time on their own. Although boisterous, you’ll usually be able to control their behaviour. School You may notice a change in your child's behaviour when she starts school. If your child has problems learning things or is slower in picking things up, this can affect her behaviour. Reading problems can also make it hard to complete tasks or follow instructions. |
| Parental behaviour Problems are a part of everyday life, but if you are unhappy and absorbed in dealing with them, it will affect the time you spend with your child. To counter this, your child may try to attract attention through noisy behaviour. If it isn’t clear to your child what is and isn't allowed, it can result in difficult behaviour. This is because rules let your child know you don’t like a certain type of conduct. Clear, consistent rules will help your child learn to control her own behaviour. So if you're a two-parent family, you and your partner need to agree on the boundaries. If you're a working parent, it's also something that needs discussing with your child's carers. Sensitivity to food or medicine There's no doubt food can affect the way we feel. You may notice certain foods affect your child’s behaviour. If you’re concerned about your child’s diet, you should ask your GP or a dietician for advice. All children need a healthy balanced diet.Medicines can also affect the behaviour of some children. Some asthma medications may sometimes make a child hyperactive, irritable or unable to sleep for a short time. Travel sickness medicines and antihistamines have the potential to make children either drowsy or overactive. Children may feel irritable following vaccines or if a medicine has caused a headache. If you think any medicine is making your child behave differently, talk to your GP. It may be that your child’s behaviour is unrelated to the medicine, but if it is, your GP may be able to suggest an alternative treatment. Medical problems Certain medical conditions can affect your child's behaviour. Epileptic seizures can cause a child to become drowsy, impairing their attention. Epilepsy can also cause unusual behaviour and lead to abnormal perceptions. Hearing problems such as deafness or glue ear can make it hard for a child to follow instructions. Sometimes, not hearing what's been said can be mistaken for not doing what you're told. Tourette's syndrome involves repetitive, involuntary jerking movements of the body and sudden outbursts of noise or swearing. Autism and Asperger's syndrome often lead to difficulties in understanding and using language. Depression and anxiety disorders can cause poor concentration, irritability and restlessness. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a medical condition that should only be diagnosed by a specialist. Parents often say their children are hyperactive, but ADHD is more than just boisterous behaviour. The phrase ‘attention deficit’ is used to describe difficulty concentrating. |
What is Difficult Child Behaviour?
Learn more about child behaviour!
| Dealing with Difficult Child Behaviour? Most of us have strong opinions on how to guide our children's behaviour. Unfortunately, these opinions often focus on stopping the inappropriate behaviour and neglect to give significant emphasis to helping children learn new, more appropriate ways to behave. People who work with young children have a golden opportunity and an awesome responsibility to help children learn to make appropriate behaviour choices which, in turn, can lead to enhanced self-esteem and self-discipline. To be effective, discipline for young children must be in place before the rules are broken. As a process of guidance, discipline can be divided into two major components: indirect and direct. In the area of indirect guidance, we need to look at the organization of the environment to encourage autonomy and to empower children. As well, we need to look at the people -- the teachers -- who nurture and help children learn. Lots of parents worry about their children’s active, noisy behaviour and tantrums. Sometimes it can be hard to work out whether a child’s behaviour is normal, or the sign of a behavioural disorder. Tantrums Tantrums are not usually anything to worry about. They’re a way of expressing frustration and most children have them in their early years (from age one to four). They can be loud and violent, and it's normal to find them upsetting or embarrassing. Sometimes, if you can tell your child is about to have a tantrum, you may be able to distract her by getting her to look at something or giving a favourite toy. Excitability Young children, especially those aged five and below, are often energetic, noisy and excitable. Usually this liveliness is quite normal. Sometimes, active and noisy children can be quite a handful, talking all the time, not doing as they’re told and seeming very restless. This kind of overactive behaviour is more usual among boys. Although this can be hard to deal with, it’s only when a child’s behaviour is extreme that it suggests a behavioural disorder. Naughtiness All children are naughty - scribbling on walls, fighting with siblings, cheekiness and ignoring requests are all part and parcel of growing up. Sometimes this behaviour is isolated to one-off incidents, or it may be a phase your child is going through. Naughty behaviour may be caused by your child testing your reaction to find out what's allowed or triggered by a change in her environment (eg worries about school). It may be down to jealousy of a sibling or it may be a way to attract your attention. |
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