When Kids Misbehave - Parenting Tips

Misbehaving
When Kids Misbehave, Stay Firm, Fair and Consistent

All kids misbehave and when they do, they should receive negative consequences. If the consequences are given firmly, fairly and consistently, they will be effective.

Two forms of negative consequences include taking away a privilege for misbehavior and adding chores.

Some situations are tailor-made for taking away a privilege. For example, if your teenage daughter comes home an hour late, you might remove a part of that privilege by making her come home an

hour earlier next time. Always pair the behavior with the consequence to reinforce the relationship between the two. Adding chores is an effective method for teaching responsibility. Chores take time and effort from your child that could be spent doing something fun.

Be sure the consequences you assign actually have a negative effect on your child. Pay attention to the effect the consequence has on the behavior you want to change. If the problem behavior has decreased or ended, you can be sure your child has received an effective negative consequence.

Although it may be difficult, staying calm is crucial to effective teaching. This can be accomplished by being firm but not angry and by not pointing fingers or calling names.