We cannot refute the fact that our children is not easy to handle and some of them are out of control nowadays. Jacob strikingly pointed out that it is “the result of misplaced adult attention” :

In a study done many years ago, psychologist Betty Hart, Ph.D., and her colleagues at the University of Washington, studied the effects of attention on Bill, a 4-year-old “crybaby” enrolled in a morning preschool. Each morning Bill had between five and 10 crying spells: He cried when he fell, bumped his head or if another child took away a toy. Each time Bill cried a teacher went to him to offer comfort. Hart and her colleagues reasoned that this adult attention, though intended to reassure and comfort Bill, might actually be the reason for all his crying.

Parental attention is also discussed thoroughly. It takes a major role in shaping children’s behavior. How should parents use it when their children throw tantrum? And how does it affect the effectiveness of time-out? What’re your thoughts?

Why are children out of control [Psychology Today]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006 at 12:37 am and is filed under Behavior, How-to Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.