- 1). SET BOUNDARIES: It is important that your child learns boundaries. You do not want them to grow up and think that everything is accessible to them, they do not have to honor rules and guidelines.
Start with a little one by telling them what they can touch and cannot touch. Show them the consequences of not staying within the boundaries set for them. Continue to practice the lesson with the child until he or she masters the lesson. Trust me! Your child will give you more than enough opportunities to implement setting boundaries. - 2). BE CONSISTENT: You will need to be consistent with your follow through with the child. If you set boundaries, it is just as important that you as the parent enforce the boundaries. You do not want to send mixed messages to the child. For example, if you told Jimmy he could not play with a ball inside of the house and Little Jimmy decides that today that boundary does not apply. You must reiterate to Jimmy what the guideline is and immediately confiscate the ball. If you ignore little Jimmy playing with the ball inside of the house, then Little Jimmy has no other choice but to ignore you and your boundaries.
- 3). DETERMINE APPROPRIATE REWARDS AND CONSEQUENCES: Now, I am not advocating bribing your child to do anything. What I am saying is to reward him or her when they consistently follow your guidelines. Likewise, if he or she does not follow the guideline you must determine what kind of corrective measures the child's disobedience warrants. Please make sure to gradually increase the consequences. You do not want to start out with the most harsh consequence and after the child crosses the boundary again, where do you go. You have already given the top consequence. Give your child the opportunity to learn how to follow your directions. If parents would do these kinds of things when their children are young, then teachers and police officers would not have to struggle so much with their children.
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