Spotlight On
Bring Out the Best in Your Children
The Problem
Parents play a key role in shaping their children’s behavior. It can be rewarding, but it can also be very difficult
One Solution
This guide, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, presents 11 key concepts parents can apply in day-to-day life to influence their children’s behavior. It is available here.
One of the concepts presented is to use discipline strategies to guide and teach instead of punish. Bring Out the Best in Your Children offers the following example: You need to discipline your child and the strategy you choose is time-out. That’s a good choice if it’s done in a loving way: “Time-out is not meant to punish or socially isolate but instead to guide and teach children. The goal of time-out is to briefly remove children from a difficult situation to teach them how to self-calm.”
Other concepts include setting clear and realistic expectations, noticing good behavior and praising it, and building structure and routines into a child’s day. The resource also includes a section on things to consider if your child’s behavior doesn’t improve. This is a helpful, well-written document and something that the parents in your program might be eager to read. It is available in both English and in Spanish.
