In terms of child behaviour, when a child is presenting with a particular behaviour that a parent would like to address, the parent first needs to understand what the child is getting from the behaviour, & then as advised by Behaviour Therapists, where possible to replace the negative behaviour with a more appropriate alternative behaviour.
Some Examples Given By A Behaviour Analyst:
* If a child is having tantrums in order to escape/avoid having to do tasks/activities they don’t want to do – a more appropriate alternative behaviour can be taught, such as to ask for a break.
* If a child is presenting with negative behaviour due to not knowing how to successfully deal with feelings such as managing anger or frustration – a more appropriate alternative behaviour can be taught such as going outside/to their room to cool down & then come back & talk about it, etc.
* If a child is presenting with negative/tantrum behaviour because they aren’t allowed something or getting what they want – a more appropriate alternative behaviour can be taught such as giving them the option of earning what it is they are looking for through POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR instead.
* If a child is presenting with what looks like attention-seeking behaviours, it could be that the child is actually connection-seeking, & Child Therapists advise that they could be taught more appropriate alternative behaviours such as asking their parents to play/spend time with them, etc.
So To Sum It Up..
In terms of behaviour challenges & parenting, it has been found in studies carried out in the field of Behaviour Analysis, when a child is helped to replace negative behaviours with more appropriate alternative behaviours, they still get the outcome they are looking for while parents get the outcome they are looking for (positive behaviour) so everyone benefits.
