The Ways to Improve A Child’s Behavior – Part II

This is a continuation of yesterday’s post – The Ways to Improve A Child’s Behavior – Part I

Stay Calm

When a child is upset and acting out, your job is to keep him safe. You may feel uncomfortable with the noise and behavior, and want to leave early, and you certainly can make reasonable attempts to leave early.

It’s not reasonable to expect that a child is going to stop screaming and crying if you yell or threaten him. Again, he will only get more upset to see you looking as though you are losing control.

The fact is, you probably can’t make him calm down. Know that that is okay. Again, you need to keep him safe, and step in if he puts himself in harm’s way. Otherwise, understand that he needs to vent his anger and will only act calm when he IS calm.

Young children can’t bottle things up.

Remember Your Deep Breaths

Tell yourself that you are in control here, even though your child is not.

Tell yourself that what you are doing is teaching him a lesson about behavior that he will remember, and that this is a learning process.

Tell yourself that this behavioral change is going to take longer than just one day, but that if you stay strong just this one day, you’ll be that much closer to seeing your child’s behavior improve.

Model Calming Behaviors

Since you are staying calm in a difficult situation, model that skill for your child.

You can say things like,

“Let’s take some deep breaths to stay calm.”

Or,

“Let’s count backwards from 10 to help us think about something else so we calm down.”

Have a pair of stress balls for each of you and say,

“Let’s squeeze the stress ball to help us get our anger out and calm down.”

Repeat, Starting From All The Ways Mentioned, Everyday

Sometimes, you might find yourself stucked in between or halfway through. But remember, persistence is the key to success!

If you follow these ways to a tee, but your child still misbehaves, ask a professional.

Take your child to his pediatrician and describe the behaviors as well as what you have been doing to prevent bad behaviors and redirect your child, and for how long you’ve practiced this. He may be able to find underlying medical causes for why your child is behaving inappropriately.

Ask your child’s teacher for ideas on how to improve behavior, or if it’s a new school year, ask his teacher from last year, since she knows him better. She may have tips that are more specific to your child that will teach you how to cope with emotions that cause bad behavior, as well as help you create a system for helping your child improve his behavior.

I hope what I’ve shared with you yesterday and today will help you in your parenting journey.

If you love what you read, or if you have any comments, or if you want to share something with other parents, feel free to drop me a comment below.

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6. The Best Ways to Implement Child Discipline Through Different Ages and Stages
7. 5 Ways to Handle Your Child’s Anger