editor’s choice
Here are the AAP recommendations for
promoting positive child behavior for older
children:
• Maintain a positive emotional tone in the
home through play and parental warmth
and affection.
• Provide consistency in the form of regular
times and patterns of daily activities and
interactions to reduce resistance and
convey respect for the child.
• Respond consistently to similar behavioral
situations to promote more harmonious
parent-child relationships.
• Be flexible, particularly with older children
and adolescents, through listening and
negotiation to reduce fewer episodes
of child noncompliance with parental
expectations and involve the child in the
decision-making process which has been
associated with long-term enhancement in
moral judgment.
I should note that the AAP recommendation
is to “Provide attention to the child to increase
positive behavior and conversely ignoring,
removing, or withholding parent attention
to decrease the frequency or intensity of
undesirable behaviors.”
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