Helping Inattentive and Highly Active Young Children Manage Their Behavior -Tips for Parents and Teachers-

Have realistic expectations.

It is normal for children to become bored and restless if having to sit too long without something interesting to do. It is unreasonable to expect children to sit quietly and cooperatively for extended periods of time when they are not engaged in something interesting to them. Different children have different attention spans.

Provide appropriate structure.

Parents need to provide the appropriate structure to help inattentive or active children manage their behavior. This structure often includes clear and complete limits, enjoyable activities in which children can focus their energies, ongoing monitoring and or re!direction of behavior, and frequent positive reinforcement.

Provide children ith activities that interest the! to "eep the! occupied. Toys and games, drawing materials. "e!direct children toward activities they may enjoy when they become bored or restless. #re$uently reinforce cooperative %ehavior.

Praise, hugs, to#ens $po#er chips, stic#ers, etc.% Provide such reinforcement every &!'& minutes, depending upon needs of child. It is often helpful to set a timer to go off at brief intervals $e.g. every '(!'& minutes%. )hallenge children to be cooperative until the timer goes off. Parents can use the timer to remind themselves to reinforce positive behavior. *hen the timer goes off, positively reinforce children who have been cooperative with praise, hugs and or to#ens, or play with children for limited period of time.

&et up a si!ple re ard syste! for cooperative %ehavior.

+se rewards that can occur immediately or soon after the period of expected cooperation is over. ,void delayed rewards. -eep rewards simple. ,ppropriate rewards. time playing with parent, stic#ers, pleasurable activity later, renting a video, having a treat, etc.

Create a signal that cues children hen they are getting off trac". '

&et clear expectations for cooperative %ehavior and conse$uences for uncooperative %ehavior.

,ppropriate consequences. Time outs, loss of privileges ,void consequences that are excessively harsh and or highly out of proportion to the problem behavior. Don/t depend on consequences alone to prevent problem behavior. )onsequences should be part of a bigger structure and set of strategies for helping children manage their behavior.

'se effective li!it-setting techni$ues hen needing cooperation.

It is often important to get physically close to young children and in their line of vision when setting limits or expecting cooperation. 0a#e expectations clear. *arn children of the consequences for uncooperative behavior. 1e firm. 2et a specific time limit or deadline for cooperation to occur. The )ount!to!Three technique is often one of the best time limits to use with young children. )onsistently follow through with consequences when children do not respect limits. 3therwise, children will not learn from consequences.

Assist young children as !ay %e appropriate and helpful in co!pleting %igger tas"s. Avoid unconstructive parental responses.

,void yelling, constantly repeating requests for cooperation, or physically controlling children. ,void lecturing or reasoning with children who have been uncooperative. "easoning and lectures generally do not lead to improved behavior and do more harm than good. 2pea# less and act more.

Instead of reasoning or lecturing, use effective limit!setting practices and better plan for predictably challenging situations before they occur.