Methods of directing behavior in children
Childhood is an essential stage for guiding the child, as it is a daily task for the educator, as most children need constant guidance because they do not have the necessary experience in life, and the educator must understand the child’s behavior so that he can know the abilities of each child.
With a little patience and the right behavior control strategies, you can guide your children on how to make the right choices while minimizing the amount of unacceptable behavior they encounter.
Things to know:
Understanding the characteristics of the age stage is key to understanding and directing behavior. In order to be able to guide behavior well, we should first understand the nature of the child, his characteristics and developmental needs, especially since the stage in which the focus is on learning behavior and values is often in the period between (3-6) years, which is the period of internal motivation for muscle development and synergy of movements, and the accompanying activity, movement and jumping, and the desire for discovery is at its height, which is a stage in which the child is looking for adult attention to satisfy his need to feel accepted, which is the stage of starting to learn to participate and rely on Self and the formation of a fair amount of independence, and at this stage the learning through the senses is of great importance as the process of perception is characterized by everything that is tangible and tangible, making it difficult for him to abstraction processes. If we observe a child of this age, we will notice how he uses all his senses through his interactions, imagines and dances, builds and destroys, smells and tastes, jumps and runs and moves, shouts and rejects, imitates and describes, asks and repeats, works and explores, experiments and repeats the experience…. Many of the behaviors that adults see as both a disorder or a departure from the limit are in fact part of the nature and characteristics of the stage, all young children in early childhood, are prone to do almost the same behaviors, screaming, tantrums, excessive activity, quarreling, withdrawal, stubbornness…. These are all behaviors that can be expected of children regardless of their gender or family as long as these behaviors are within normal limits.
It is important to know, mother, that every child is different from the other, as each child has his capabilities and speed in learning, some children easily understand moral rules and adhere to them, while this may take some time from other children. Even twins each have their own unique personality.
There are many principles of direct behavior guidance that parents and teachers must follow in order to help them in the process of developing their skills in that direction, including:
Use of simplified language: It is known that children before the age of six years have little store of words and vocabulary, so parents and teachers when talking to children must use simplified and clear language so that it is easy for children to understand and assimilate.
Presenting options carefully: The kindergarten teacher sometimes confuses the process of giving instructions with providing options for children, so if the teacher tells the children “Now is the time to play” or “We will go to the playground” he does not give the children a chance to choose.
If the teacher presents the choice to the child and the child makes the choice, the teacher must allow the child to make that choice without influencing the child to change his mind.
Reward positive behavior:
The child should be rewarded for the good actions he does instead of focusing on the negative behavior and thus paying attention to it, so you should look for opportunities to praise the child for his good behavior. Whether they’re following instructions, sitting quietly and watching TV, doing homework, putting dirty clothes in the basket, or anything else we’d like to see him do a lot, you should stand up for a moment and say “good job.”
The more we praise a particular behavior, the more likely it is that a child will repeat this type of “good behavior” in the future.
Use the positive method:
Parents should use a positive style in their dealings and communication with children, because this will make children feel comfortable, and the use of this method serves to remind children of the rules and laws.
Use of packages:
The process of controlling children’s behavior needs parents to be firm in their dealings with children, and the style of assertiveness must be linked to parents speaking in a quiet voice, and if the child performs unauthorized behavior, then parents must use assertiveness so that the child does not repeat that behavior.
The child may have a fit of anger and parents may feel a desire to give up, and if the parents do, the child will certainly use the same technique next time to get what he wants.
The famous rule of politeness
Our grandmothers’ discipline rule, which frames things as incentives rather than focusing on negative outcomes, can be one of the best ways to encourage compliance with what you ask of your children.
Children feel they have some control, so instead of saying “you can’t play a video game because you haven’t cleaned your room,” try saying you can watch the video after you’ve finished cleaning your room.
In conclusion, we say to you, parents:
Directing effective children’s behavior needs great awareness and patience on the part of parents and continued application, taking into account the individual differences of children and not expecting too much of them, and motivating them to focus on the positives and praise them and overlook and ignore the negatives with effective guidance for them.
You are the most important source of your children’s education, and if you speak and behave politely with all people, including your child, he will always imitate you, as you are their best role model in everything.
