Is bringing up polite, well-mannered children a pipe dream? I find it hard not to notice kids who yell, get into fights with their siblings, completely disrespect any authority figure, throw fits and make life miserable for their parents and anyone who happens to be in close proximity to their bad behavior.
Or maybe you have your own little hellion who’s running amuck around your house, tearing through it like a tornado as you try to read and research on how to make him or her a perfect little member of society.
We’ve all seen those perfect kids, although few and far between, that are quiet, well behaved and actually use the words “yes ma’am” and “no sir”. How do you get kids like that? Is there actually a fool proof way to help you have the kind of child that you can have an easy, respectful relationship with?
Because child discipline is an important topic to me as a parent, I decided to do some research on the subject. It turns out that there is a LOT of advice out there but that most of it is hard to follow or just bad.
Can you believe that some people, who get paid for their advice, actually tell parents to ignore bad behavior and wait for it to go away? I’m sure there is worse parenting advice but I can’t think of any at the moment. Disregard anyone who tells you this. You already know that it does not work if you have tried it.
Medicating kids is another widely used method for eliminating bad behavior . In these cases, there is always a medical professional involved, since it’s impossible to get the drugs without a prescription. For a long-term solution to your kids’ behavior issues, drugs are not the answer. They may cover up the problem for now but can lead to far worse issues in the future.
Naturally, there are other tactics and strategies being used by parents everywhere. For instance, there are complex and expensive systems that parents have a hard time with and kids won’t comply with. Then there are the ever popular military-style boot camps and of course, years of therapy that will stigmatize your child forever. Oh, and then there’s begging and bribery…
Are you discouraged yet? Well, I was too but I came across a couple of people who did appear to have a handle on how to raise pleasant, responsible kids. A lot of the successful parents had learned how to turn their children around from a Mom in Georgia. Being curious about this person these successful parents called the “Behavior Repair Lady”, I contacted her and she told me her story.
Her name is Gail and she was the mother of three disrespectful, tantrum-throwing, eye-rolling children. Despite following many experts’ advice, she was not getting any results. She needed a system that would be easy to understand and follow, and it had to work FAST. (Did I mention she was desperate?)
By trial, error and chance, she was finally able to put together an effective method for “repairing” her kids’ behavior. It is based on the fact that children can easily understand the concept of cause and effect if it’s explained and demonstrated in a clear way. There is no need for cruel punishments or complicated checklists. What was the result? Within two weeks, her kids were respectful and well-mannered!
Not surprisingly, the people who knew Gail and her kids noticed and word began to spread. She started getting calls for help from other parents who had out of control kids. Of course, she was happy to help and the parents and kids she coached got results similar to hers in a very short amount of time. There’s now a video about Gail’s kids behavior repair method posted on the Internet, since she is not able to personally coach everyone who needs help.
So what’s the takeaway? If you want to learn how to have respectful kids, learn from people who have respectful kids – not childless “experts”. Oh, and don’t give up, ever!
You must log in to post a comment.