Tracking Behavior for Change

 

Do you ever get frustrated by your child’s behavior? Or something that they do or say that gets your juices going? One way that we as parents often deal with these actions is to become irate and angrily confront the child, only drawing negative attention to the issue and giving your child an opportunity to ‘get your motor going’ the next time he or she wants a little attention from you or wants to get back at you for setting boundaries. A much better way to deal with these unwanted behaviors is to manage them through tracking! Not only will you eliminate the offending action, but your relationship will improve and your child will learn a valuable life skill.



Tracking a behavior or action is really quite simple, but it’s just as simple not to do! All that is required is a sheet of paper that has the days of the month to one side and the behavior(s) or action(s) across the top of the page. That’s it! It is nothing more than a simple checklist that is reviewed nightly with your child. Each day that the behavior is eliminated, you put a check on that day and reward your child with affection-stay away from monetary rewards-hugs and kisses will suffice! When the behavior or action is expressed on a particular day, calmly acknowledge it and discuss the circumstances that led up to it. Then discuss alternative choices that could have been made to avoid expressing the behavior. The key is consistency! You must review the list for at least twenty-one days, or better yet, one whole month.

If this sounds familiar, it is also the best way to eliminate a bad habit! Give this simple technique a month to take root and you will be surprised at how easy it is to affect change and you will teach your child a great way to affect change throughout his or her life! Good luck! Let me know your thoughts on this if you have used this technique in the past or you are currently using it now. I would love to hear some feedback from you as parents.