Behaviour Analysts highly recommend that it is a lot more beneficial for parents to use Proactive Strategies rather than Reactive Strategies where possible when it comes to addressing child behaviour & the behaviour challenges that comes along with this. Often times, parents first reaction to behaviour challenges is to think about what consequence to give, rather than to think about what is causing the behaviour in the first place. However, if it is known what is causing the behaviour in the first place, this can stop it from happening, rather than having to think about consequences.
In other words, studies in the field of Behaviour Analysis show that when parenting, it is better to prevent the negative behaviour from happening in the first place, rather than having to deal with the negative behaviour when it does.
If focus is only placed on Reactive Strategies, then this means that the undesirable behaviour takes place first, & then strategies are put into place to address it afterwards.
In order to put Proactive Strategies in place, Child Therapists highlight that looking at the things that are at play in the background that contribute to the behaviour & looking at the triggers for the behaviour are essential.
Some Examples From A Behaviour Therapist Of How To Use Proactive Strategies Rather Than Reactive Strategies :
– Teaching your child how to do things that help with managing anger, rather than you having to address tantrums/outbursts when they occur.
– Making sure that you treat all siblings the same so as to reduce the chances of sibling rivalry.
– Making the time for consistent, daily, quality one-to-one time with your child so as to reduce the likelihood of them presenting with attention-seeking/connection-seeking behaviours.
When we know what is contributing to the behaviour & what is triggering it, a lot of the time we can make Proactive Changes, that stops the behaviour occurring in the first place, which makes life a lot easier all round for all involved.
#PreventIfPossible #ProactiveOverReactive
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