Welcome to the final week of 8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child. I know you are probably still recovering from Christmas (I know I am!) but we’re going to try and move on.
Last week we talked about removing rewards and privileges to eliminate serious misbehaviors. We learned that this method is an alternative to time-out and generally grows more important as the child ages. For homework, we were supposed to decide which behaviors would be punished using this method. And to also decide, in advance, which privileges would be removed. How did you do? I actually did better than I thought I would. I knew it was going to be crazy with the holidays approaching but I was actually able to work on a behavior that Tyler has that I have been trying to eliminate or at least lessen. And I found the perfect privilege to remove– his new V-tech Smile portable game console. Every time the behavior occurred I gave the V-tech a time out. By the middle of the week, he had gotten the message and was doing much better.
Now on to week 8. This week we learn how to put the discipline techniques together for a better-behaved child. If you have been diligent and consistent for the past seven weeks then you should see some positive improvements in your child’s behavior. I emphasized diligent and consistent because these two factors are key in changing your child’s behavior.
The task before us now is to use all the techniques that we have learned these past seven weeks to deal effectively with misbehaviors when they occur. If your child’s behavior still has not improved although you have faithfully followed the program, the author offers several suggestions which he calls “advanced techniques”.
One suggestion is to develop a contract, a written agreement between the parents and the child concerning a specific behavior.
A second technique goes by the acronym ESCAPE. This method is used for handling what the author calls “out of control kids”. It stands for:
Escape from old ways—
Structure a new program in which privileges must be earned—
Create a list of rules your child is expected to follow—
Assess all of the privileges extended to your child—
Plan an accounting system for earning credits—
Exchange privilege for credits earned by following the rules—
And that’s it. I hope you have learned something these past few weeks. I know I have.
See also:
Week 7: 8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child
8 Weeks to Well-behaved Child, Week 6, part two
8 Weeks to Well-behaved Child, Week 6, part one
8 Weeks to Well-behaved Child, Week 5
8 Weeks to Well-behaved Child, Week 4
8 Weeks To a Well Behaved Child: Week Three
8 Weeks To a Well Behaved Child: Week Two, Part Two
8 Weeks To a Well Behaved Child: Week Two
8 Weeks To a Well Behaved Child: Week One
8 Weeks To a Well Behaved Child