When it comes to raising your child, there are two ways parents can deal with the behaviour of their child: They can manage behavioural issues as they come up, or they can work to prevent bad behaviour before it gets out of hand. So which is the right way to do things?
Before we look at the issue of which you should use, let’s quickly look at what both of these things are.
What Is Behaviour Management?
Behaviour management is when you manage the way your child behaves. It refers to steering them away from bad behaviour, and disciplining them if they are acting them in a way they shouldn’t.
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How Do You Prevent Bad Behaviour?
An alternative to behaviour management, is to prevent bad behaviour before it becomes routine. The main way of doing this is by encouraging your child, and by praising them when they do good things. If you make them feel good when they behave well, they will be less likely to misbehave and rebel against you. Their actions will be motivated by positive praise, and sink in more then if you were to tell them off.
Should You Prevent Bad Behaviour Or Manage Behaviour?
Well, in all honesty, both methods need to be used together in conjunction when dealing with young children. As kids grow to learn what it good or bad, they will do things that you feel represent bad behaviour. They do not know they are being bad however, they are simply experimenting with the world around them. During this stage, you need to make them aware that what they are doing is wrong. You can use praise to encourage your child to act is a sensible manner, and use behaviour management strategies to keep them in-line when they do things they know they shouldn’t be doing.
It’s not that easy to say you should use one of the other. Kids will naturally do things they know they aren’t allowed to do if they think they can get away with it, no matter how much you try to prevent bad behaviour. Having said that, if you takes steps in preventing negative behaviour, when you punish your child they will be a lot more remorseful and have less chance of behaving in the same way again.
Prevent Bad Behaviour Vs Behaviour Management Conclusion
While it is impossible to fully prevent bad behaviour, great strides can be made if you make your child feel good about behaving positively. There will always be times when they will misbehave though, so in these instances you need to implement some behaviour management tactics.