Tag Archives: behavior modification

Week 7: 8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child

We’re entering the home stretch! It’s week 7 of 8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child. This week we learn how to remove rewards and privileges to eliminate serious misbehavior. Before we move on, let’s review last week. In week six we talked about using effective punishment to discourage problem behaviors. We talked about using punishment effectively as well as the proper way to use time-out. For homework we were supposed to use reprimands as a mild punishment and also use time-out to discourage a menacing behavior. How did you do? Me? With the holidays it was frantic at my house … Continue reading →

8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child-Week 6, part two

Part two continues. (4) Frequency– punishment works best when it is infrequent, otherwise the child will become immune to its effects. (5) Follow-through– if you issue a warning or threat you must always carry it out. (6) Context– the atmosphere within the family is very important when administering punishment. Your relationship with your child is also important. If the atmosphere is hostile, the punishment will more than likely be taken differently from the way it was intended. The kids are also more likely to consider the punishment as meanness, rejection, etc., if their relationship with the punishing parent is cool … Continue reading →

8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child – Week 6

It’s week six of 8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child . Last week we learned about discouraging misbehavior by withdrawing attention. In a nutshell, we were supposed to ignore misbehavior. This has always been one of the hardest things for me to do. I suppose I am one of those active interveners, a parent who feels that those little troublesome behaviors can’t be ignored or they will get worse. Of course, it’s just the opposite. Last week I tried really hard to ignore some of Tyler’s more irritating behavior. I succeeded about a third of the time. What made it … Continue reading →

Week 5: 8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child

Well, we’re almost to the end of our 8 Weeks To A well-Behaved Child program. This is week 5 and we’ll learn how to discourage misbehaviors by withdrawing attention. But first a review of last week. In week 4, we learned how to use reminder praise and increase compliance with expectations. Our assignment for the week was to use the five-step method of increasing compliance at least five times this week and to also describe any instances when we used any of the previous weeks’ methods during this week. The one thing I can vouch for is that small kids … Continue reading →

8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child: Week 4

It’s time for week 4 of 8 Weeks To A well-Behaved Child. We’re at the half-way mark and this week we will learn about using reminder praise and increasing compliance with expectations, but first I want to review last week. In week three, using rewards and privileges to strengthen behavior, the assignment was to select a behavior and a reward and to keep a tally of how many times each day we used the reward or privilege to strengthen the behavior. For me this was a tough week. With Thanksgiving and Tyler’s birthday plus the fact that Tyler had school … Continue reading →

Week Three: 8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child

Here we are at week three of 8 Weeks to A Well-Behaved Child. Last week we talked about giving praise and attention. Our assignment for the week was to give praise and attention five times each day. I started the week out doing really well but slipped about mid-week and had to remind myself what I was supposed to be doing. When things get hectic it’s so easy to forget to praise our kids but this kind of encouragement is exactly what they need. During week three we learn how to use rewards and privileges to strengthen behavior. Just like … Continue reading →

Using Charts and Contracts To Help Your Child Reach Goals

Using charts and contracts is a good way to help your child achieve a goal. In the book, Common Sense Parenting, the authors offer tips on how to write a contract and how to use contracts. Simply put, a contract is a written statement of what your child agrees to do and what will happen if he or she accomplishes that goal. A chart is a visual representation used to help keep track of the agreement. Some examples of goals you might want your child to reach include, keeping their bedroom clean, doing their homework and coming home on time. … Continue reading →

8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child Week Two, Part Two

Continuing with part two of week two. When you make a descriptive comment about your child’s behavior you’re not necessarily verbally praising but simply letting your kids know that you are paying attention to what they are doing. Once you get the hang of giving attention, then add praise to your descriptive remarks. So in the previous example from part one, “you straightened your room all by yourself,” you would simple add a comment that praised the act. Adding a praise as simple as, “thank you so much”, is enough to do the trick. Here are a few more tips … Continue reading →

8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child Week Two

It’s week two of 8 Weeks To A Well-behaved child. Last week’s homework was to spend time monitoring the critical remarks and negative statements we make to our kids. How’d you do? Me? Well, I found out that I give Tyler lots of positive praise for all his good behavior but it’s the seemingly harmless statements I sometimes make, that I need to work on. Yes, I found myself saying stuff like, “you’re not trying,” and “stop acting like a baby,” and “when are your going to start listening to me.” These seemingly harmless statements are in fact very harmful … Continue reading →

How To Make Your Child Whine-free

In the September 2005 issue of Parenting , noted author and parenting expert Dr. William Sears talks about a behavior that’s near and dear to me— whining. Like a lot of kids his age, Tyler has the bad habit of whining and when he does —it makes me cringe. I’ve asked him nicely not to do it but so far this behavior has not lessened much. Like the parent who wrote in to Dr. Sears wanting to know how she can stop the behavior, Tyler’s whining is driving me up the wall. Fortunately, Dr. Sears offers some valuable tips on … Continue reading →