Ep #129: Why you’re seeing increased negative behaviors

If you’re are seeing an increase in negative behaviors since the beginning of the pandemic, you are not alone.

The uncertainty and change in routine has been difficult for many families, and especially for children as they don’t know how to appropriately deal with all the changes happening around them.

Kids thrive on routines as those routines allow them to feel safe and in control while understanding the world around them. When routines are altered, and keep getting altered, they often don’t know how to process the changes.

Children act up because they’re feeling overwhelmed, worried, scared, sad, frustrated, stressed, etc. Understanding why they may act up allows parents to better address the root cause of what is causing their difficult behavior.

If you understand that they’re acting up because they’re feeling overwhelmed you can create daily opportunities for them to mediate or take a break. If online school is causing them frustration or stress, you can implement procedures to reduce those feelings. If they’re sad because they’re not seeing friends or missing out on things they love, you could create online or different opportunities for them.

The skill of Following Instructions allows a child to feel in control because they understand what is expected of them. Following Instructions is a skill parents can use on children of all ages–including teenagers.

Following Instructions is one of the first behaviors  skills we recommend parents teach because it provides such a framework for all the other behavior skill.

Following Instructions provides the following benefits for children.

They allow child to know exactly what they are supposed to do, which reduces stress and frustration for them.

It meets your child at their level by allowing parents to break down large instructions into small steps.

It gives your child confidence that they can accomplish tasks.
It allows you to focus on the good things your child is doing, ie completing a task, which shifts negative behavior sooner.