When ignoring bad behavior is the best thing a parent can do.
Let’s face it, some things kids do can drive a parent bonkers, and it’s tempting to punish certain behaviors. But there are times when we’ll have better luck changing those behaviors by simply ignoring them says Nicholas Long, author of Parenting the Strong Willed Child. “You don’t want to ignore obviously dangerous behavior or aggressive behavior. The types of behaviors you can ignore as a parent are the attention-seeking behaviors. Things like whining or baby-talking. Those are things that parents can ignore and when you ignore them you can tell your child ‘I’m not going to listen to your whining or your baby-talk. When you start talking in a big boy or a big girl voice then I will listen’.” But beware, there is no such thing as half way when it comes to ignoring bad behavior. “If they ignore for a little while and then give in and pay attention to the child while they’re doing the whining or baby-talking, it’s going to make matters even worse.”
The Parent Report’s guest expert Nicholas Long, author of Parenting the Strong Willed Child.Related Articles
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