Key issues
- The best way to teach is to set the rules for your child.
- The main principles of good learning are praise, positive attention, and loving relationships.
- Good teaching methods can lead children to develop good behavior.
- Punishment for children 3 years and older.
Learning guides children to develop good behavior. Good teaching methods include:
Agree on behavior and set boundaries – for example, through family rules
Help your child work within these boundaries – for example, by using consequences.
Building a warm and loving relationship with your child is essential for good learning, as is praise, encouragement, rewards, and positive attention.
Good teaching methods can help children learn to:
- Be assertive at home, at a friend’s house, at daycare, kindergarten, or school
- Control your own behavior and get along well with others
- Express and manage their emotions.
Learning at different ages
Love
Teaching is not appropriate for babies. This is because babies do not yet understand rules and consequences. Their actions are related to learning and development. They do things to test skills, complete tasks, communicate, connect with you, and more.
For example, when babies pull your hair, they are learning about cause and effect. The best way to help your baby learn and develop is with warmth and care. So when your baby pulls your hair, you can say “no” and teach your baby to gently touch your hair. Our baby behavior video guide can help you understand what your baby is trying to convey with his behavior and body language.
toddlers
It’s also not a good idea to teach young children. This is because children are just beginning to develop the skills they need to understand and behave within boundaries. This includes the skills to understand and follow requests and instructions, and the skills to manage and express strong emotions like sadness and anger.
The best way to guide your child’s behavior is to be sensitive to their feelings. For example, if your child is upset because he can’t put on his socks, a strategy like “Time’s Up” can help him settle down.
Our Child Behavior Strategy has more ideas to guide your child’s behavior. This includes changing the environment, distracting the child, and planning for challenging situations.
Toddlers
You can start to teach children good manners as young as 3 years old. At this age, children learn to behave well, for example by working together, showing consideration for others, and following family rules. But they need help understanding, remembering, and practicing the behavior. This is where learning comes in.
For example, you have a family rule about being gentle with each other. Good discipline practices might include punishments like giving a time-out when a child hits a sibling.
Our preschool behavior strategies have many more ideas to help guide your child’s behavior in a positive direction. school-age children
You can use positive reinforcement to teach your child. At this age, children are learning how to behave in different situations, such as at school, at home, or at the library. But your child still needs to be guided by his or her own boundaries and help him or her stick to those boundaries. Discipline is one way to do this.
For example, you may have family rules about how to share household chores. Good discipline practices can include consequences such as losing privileges if your child does not do the dishes on time.
Our school behavior strategies include ideas for guiding your child’s behavior in a positive way.
