Parents and caregivers who recognize that behavior has a purpose and is typically influenced by other factors can help children construct the essential skills to communicate more effectively.
When the going gets tough try these out!
- Boost Good Behavior – Praise your child for correct behavior. “Catch” them doing the right things.
- Provide Structure and Consistency – Young children need regular schedules and guidelines. Constancy helps provide a safe and predictable environment.
- Gather Data – Keep a log of challenging behaviors. When does the behavior occur? What is the child doing before and after it happens? What is going on in a child’s life when the behavior takes place. If you see a pattern, then you can create strategies to address that behavior.
- Change the Setting – Remove the child from the immediate setting so the behavior is reduced or eliminated.
- Offer Options – Give your child options by offering basic choices. To keep things simple, it’s best to give only two options, such as, “Do you want to wear pants or a dress today?”
- Avoid Power Struggles – Try to negotiate with your child. An example could be, “I’ll pick up one toy and then you pick up one toy”.
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