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Have Some Rules and Apply them consistently
Establish simple rules and routines for your child. They need to know what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do. Routine and rules help children to make sense of their day and what is expected
of them. They feel safer and more confident when there are rules and routines.
Start with a few "things we do and don't do." As they get older, involve them in the process and listen to their concerns and own suggestions for new rules and routines.
Nip bad behavior in the bud
Most people have to deal with bad behavior because they don’t pick up on the early signals that things are getting out of hand. For example, not getting up to discipline a child when it is breaking one of the house rules. It also means that starting the day early with a positive activity that the child enjoys is the best way to ensure that you have a good day. Start every day with a walk to the playground and then some quality play together. You will find that your child is much better behaved the rest of the day as a result.
Doing positive things with your child builds up points that you can cash in later, when you need to get something done.
Hint: Don’t put kids in front of the television as soon as they get up. They’ll be a problem the rest of the day.
Learn to identify patterns in your child’s behavior
Parents must become good observers of their child’s behavior and of their own. Being a good parent is often more about holding a mirror up to your own behavior than picking your child’s behavior to pieces.
If a child has a certain behavior that you would like to develop or change, observe carefully what events, actions or situations trigger the behavior. Write it down in a diary. Then watch to see what happens after the behavior, i.e., consequences or pay-offs.
E.g. Often parents spend many hours trying to discipline a child about staying in bed and going to sleep. After many tears and yelling, the parent gives up and lets the child come and sit on the sofa in front of the television and fall asleep. The tragedy is that after all that hard work and unpleasantness for parent and child, the child has learnt nothing other than, it can get what it wants if only it cries for long enough. It would have been better to let them fall asleep on your lap from the very beginning!
By being able to distinguish clearly between the triggers and consequences, you may see a pattern that actually is the opposite to what you wanted to achieve. That rather than rewarding the child for doing the right thing, you are rewarding them for doing the wrong thing.
The first place to start after identifying the pattern is most often a change in your own responses and behaviors.
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