Almost every child will display challenging behaviour every now and then. In order to reduce challenging behaviour in children, it’s up to parents, family members and teachers to effectively respond to and manage it.
When a child displays behaviours that challenge, there are several effective ways to respond. Reducing attention, rewarding good behaviours and developing a behaviour management plan are key ways to achieve this.
Here, Anglicare Victoria explains effective methods of reducing behaviours that challenge, and how we can help children displaying concerning behaviour.
Rewarding good behaviours, rather than bad ones
As adults, we want to reward good behaviours and not reward bad ones. When a child misbehaves, it’s crucial that they aren’t rewarded for it – this creates a clear message that bad behaviour won’t get the child anywhere.
Conversely, giving in to tantrums or bad behaviour will encourage a child to keep behaving badly in order to get what they want. Therefore, one of the most effective ways to reduce challenging behaviour is to remain firm and ‘draw the line’ when a child is behaving poorly.
Reinforce good behaviour of other children
Good behaviour should be praised. If a child is misbehaving, but one of their peers is behaving well, focus your attention on the child’s peer instead of the misbehaving child. For example, instead of ‘stop running inside, Molly’, a positive way to communicate the message would be addressing another child and saying, ‘excellent to see you safely walking indoors, Jasmine’. This way, you’re setting an example for the misbehaving child and showing that good behaviour gets good attention – bad behaviour does not.
Reduce attention during challenging behaviour
One way to reduce challenging behaviour is to reduce the attention given to a child while they’re misbehaving. When children display challenging behaviour, it’s because they want attention, want something, or they’re trying to get out of doing a non-preferred activity.
When we give excess attention to children in these moments, we’re implying that challenging behaviour comes with a reward. Instead, we want to minimise attention during these moments and create a boundary that states challenging behaviour won’t reap a reward.
Additional services: Meridian Youth and Family Therapy program
We understand that responding to difficult or challenging behaviour isn’t always as simple as taking these measures. If you’re concerned that a child is displaying challenging behaviour due to something more serious, like trauma experienced at home, Anglicare Victoria is here to help.
Anglicare Victoria’s Meridian Youth and Family Therapy program provides short, medium and long term support to help assist with a myriad of student-related issues, including school withdrawal, bullying, anxiety, behavioural problems, grief and loss, social isolation and many others. Contact Anglicare Victoria if you’d like to know more about how we can help you.
