Child Behavior Checklist

7 Common Reasons Why Children Misbehave

You're just about to snap...just pause for one moment and think about why your child is behaving the way they are.

Use the following child behavior checklist to gain an understanding of what drives a child to react or "act out" the way the do.

1. They are too young to know how they should be behaving.

It takes a while to learn all the complex steps that make up the rules on how to behave.

Expect to have to repeat your instructions often. Busy young children have short attention spans and short memories.

2. They are trying to express how they are feeling.

It can be hard enough for an adult to find the words to express how they feel sometimes.

Put yourself in your kid’s shoes – they can be completely overwhelmed by a whole range of emotions in a short amount of time.

If they are upset, angry, or frustrated it may all spill out as a tantrum or violent rampage through the house.

3. Children want (and need) lots of attention.

If kids feel they aren’t getting enough attention they will find ways of getting it even if it isn’t of a high quality.

For example they can be hurt and angry that your Saturday ritual of reading the papers over a coffee doesn’t include them.

Expect to be interrupted by more and more urgent requests, toys plonked on the paper and finally the papers ripped from under your nose.

4. Children like to copy Mom and Dad.

Finding mud smeared all over the back door may be you child’s attempt at painting the house, just like Daddy.

Finding all the clothes from your wardrobe in a crumpled heap may be part of your child busily trying on clothes to get ready to go to work - just like you.

Try to be gentle and get them to help put it all back again.

5. Stress can affect children too.

If there is something major happening in your lives it can bring on some pretty horrendous behavior just when you feel least able to cope with it.

• Moving house.
• Being divorced.
• A death in the family.
• Starting school.

They may feel good behavior doesn’t bring any good results. Make sure isn’t just bad behavior that gets attention.

Praise them for playing nicely, for entertaining themselves while you take a long phone call, for putting their dirty clothes into the laundry hamper the first time you ask...

7. Not fair!

They may feel that you have been unfair and “act out” against you.

Make sure you stick to your own rules.

Having said that, take the time to reassess your rules from time to time. As your children grow up as they may feel that the current rules are for babies and too strict.

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