“How can I help my child with behavior problems?”
My daughter has behavioral problems. I want to help her. How can I help my child with behavior problems?
9 Answers
Very complicated and different for each person. Find a therapist you trust to speak with
Your question is a perfect question when beginning psychotherapy. When we work with children with behavioral problems, a huge proportion of the work is teaching the parent how to help their child. We call this "parent training," and we love to do it. We use principals of gentle parenting, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and even a treatment called Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) when we help parents help their children. There is so much to learn as parents, and so much evidence-based parenting that truly helps! If you are struggling, reach out to us today at https://www.resolvepsychologicalservices.com/. We would love to have you!
Greetings, Thank you for writing! I can definitely give you some useful tips and pointers but you need to tell me the exact nature of the problem. What kind of behavioral issues does she have?
That’s a complicated question because kids don’t just act out for the sake of acting out. There is a reason or reason such as anxiety, a learning disability, a sensory processing disorder, or an auditory processing disorder. Talk to your child’s teacher and gain info about what he or she is seeing and compare it with what you are seeing. Keep a log of what happened before your child has a meltdown and speaks to a psychologist to help you translate
Consult with a child Psychologist (rather than a psychiatrist). Medical professionals are too quick to give medications when working with parents and children to find ways to handle behavioral problems is a better approach. Behavior problems can be signs of stress, emotional turmoil, or other learning problems, so I advise that you NOT treat the problem like you are training a dog. Try to understand your child's state of mind, and also learn to set boundaries and say no, have rules when necessary. Also, I recommend Claudia Gold's book Keeping your Childs's Mind in Mind. I hope this is helpful.
There are some differences in handling behaviors depending on your daughter's age. Some great resources are Love and Logic or other parenting programs, many of which these days are virtual or at least online. A family therapist might be able to provide guidance or suggestions and support for both of you.
Unfortunately, you have not given your daughter's age or the nature of the problems, so an answer is difficult. The best generic answer would be to be sure you are always consistent with your rules, boundaries, and responses to her behavior. Deal with acting out as soon as possible and with clear, concrete explanations. Be firm but compassionate in your style. Be careful what consequences you use so that you will follow through with them ALWAYS. If you do not, the lesson learned is, "what my parent says when I am punished doesn't mean anything ... it never happens." Speak to the teacher and/or school guidance counselor to see if the behaviors that you have in mind occur there as well. If they do not, then you must examine what you are doing to encourage and/or maintain the problem behaviors.
Depending on the age, you can engage in deep breathing exercises with them (I like to use the insight timer app), you might also pursue play therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy options in your area. I also find that setting consistent boundaries and adhering to them can be most effective. For example, stating that a child has to work on homework for 30 minutes before taking a ten-minute break, and setting alarms to adhere to these rules. I hope this helps!
See this link...
https://familydoctor.org/what-you-can-do-to-change-your-childs-behavior/
https://familydoctor.org/what-you-can-do-to-change-your-childs-behavior/
