Here are some basic suggestions for guiding your child's behaviour: - Express your love and respect for your child each day.
- Notice your child's good behaviour and her efforts to make things work.
- Plan ahead to provide a safe play space with interesting and age-appropriate activities.
- Be predictable by providing a routine, being consistent and following through on consequences.
- Set up reasonable limits, expectations, and consequences that relate to each of your children's ages and temperaments.
- Communicate rules, limits and consequences clearly.
- Gradually teach your child to handle a range of emotions.
- Redirect, distract or use humour to help your child to calm down.
- Offer choices and let her learn from consequences.
- Be a model for good problem-solving, negotiating and understanding of others, as well as the behaviours you want your child to have - teach and lead instead of using force.
- Be firm but have realistic expectations.
- Remember, it takes time for children to learn acceptable behaviours.
Adapted from: Landy, Sarah. (2002). Pathways to Competence: A Program to Encourage Healthy Social and Emotional Development in Young Children. |
