"Help For Parents! Discover How Your Child's Behaviour Can Change"

When addressing behaviour problems and anger management, it is helpful to look at the benefits of positive reinforcement. This means that we give a child attention when they are showing acceptable behaviour. Amazingly, when this happens on a regular basis, the child loses the need for unacceptable behaviour as a means of receiving the desired attention. Where possible, a child should be ignored when they are doing this so that they learn that unacceptable behaviour is pointless. On the other hand, when your child's behaviour is good, they need to hear your approval and praise (especially if it is a situation in which they behaved unacceptably before). There may be times when they need managing in order to keep the environment safe and to keep them from abusing others, but they need to learn that good behaviour brings good results. Empty threats or giving in with treats to a wining child should never happen.

Reward charts are great ways of showing everyone where they are going and keeping focussed. For example, an ice-cream can be rewarded at the end of the week if each day they earn a star for staying in bed when it's bedtime, etc. This is surely far more fun for everyone, than spending all your time and energy in punishing and yelling at them for bad behaviour. However, consistency is important and rewards only given when the agreed goal is reached. This is how you can manage your child, without the authoritative parenting, instead of letting them manage you! This will soon bring peace and enjoyment into your relationships and home. As you see the importance of giving your child positive attention, you will begin finding fun ways of spending time together. A bit of parenting humour can go a long way too! Even sharing the chores together can be fun if approached with the right attitude and rewards. What do we mean by this? If for example, a parent is too busy to play a game with their child, they could get the child to help them with the laundry or the hoovering (depending on their age) with the reward of playing the game when it is done. Or even doing the shopping together can seem an amicable adventure if the child is given their fair share of finding the desired items from their own list. When parenting teenagers, they can learn that by helping out around the house, their busy parent will be more inclined to give them the lift that they are asking for when they want to go out. Getting them to play their part in the family in such ways will give them a greater sense of belonging, trust and teach them responsibility at the same time. Being a parent, which was an act of creation in itself, can be an ongoing creative experience and lifestyle that we all share together, if we choose it.