Find out about some of the things you can do to help manage your child's behaviour when they are being challenging or difficult.
Most children have times when their behaviour can be less than “perfect”. This is a normal part of growing up, but for mums, dads and carers, it can cause challenges. Especially when their child’s “tantrum” takes place in a busy supermarket, with on-lookers watching.
Don’t worry, we’ve all been there and although children don’t come with a “User Manual”, there are some tried and tested tips that can help you manage your child’s behaviour and how you react to them.
The most important thing is to stay calm, count to ten, have realistic expectations so you don’t put pressure on your child and yourself and praise the behaviour you want more of.
Local support
Family Hub Networks
Your local Family Hub Network can offer lots of support and advice, for families with children from birth up to 19 years, this can include one to one family support within your own home, groups such as Incredible Years, EPEC (empowering people empowering communities) Being a Parent and Solihull Approach and parenting workshops such as Managing Conflict and Understanding and Parenting Teenagers.
Find out more or complete a request for service form at Parenting and family support (Nottinghamshire County Council).
Our staff can help support and guide you with all those everyday parenting challenges such as potty training, sleep problems and how to make trips out to the local shops something you and your child both look forward to, rather than dread. They can also guide you to more specialist support, if that’s needed.
We also offer a range of parenting courses, and workshops such as Incredible Years, 123 Magic, Solihull, EPEC (empowering people empowering communities) Being a Parent and understanding and parenting teenagers which give you tried and tested tips and tools to help you manage your child’s behaviour and family life.
Find your nearest Family Hub team (Nottinghamshire County Council).
Healthy Family Team
The Healthy Family Team Parentline can offer support with behaviour difficulties. Find out more at Parentline (Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust).
Online support and advice
These websites may be able to provide advice and guidance for your individual circumstance:
- Find NHS advice about difficult behaviour in toddlers and young children at Dealing with child behaviour problems (NHS)
- Health for Under 5s A has a range of articles by NHS professionals on children's behaviour at Behaviour (Health Under 5s)
- Tools designed to support your understanding of tantrums and provide you with some tips at Managing tantrums and supporting positive behaviour (Barnados)
- Understand what might be causing the challenging behaviour at Understanding and managing your child’s behaviour (Parent Talk)
- Tips on what you can do with challenging behaviour from your child or young person at Challenging behaviour (Young Minds)
Strategies to deal with challenging behaviour from the Being a Parent Programme
Find strategies to help make family life less stressful in a series of short videos from The Centre for Parent and Child Support. Made by the NHS with real parents sharing their experiences.
The first video in the series 'Are you the perfect parent?' provides an introduction on how to get the most from the series. This 7-minute YouTube video can be watched here, or follow the link to watch on YouTube and you can also download some free resources to go with the video.
The other YouTube videos in this series are:
- Looking after yourself IS looking after your children! (6 mins)
- Understanding our children. Parenting strategies that help reduce tantrums and raise happy children (8 mins)
- Communicating with your child in a way that helps them LISTEN better and TALK more (8 mins)
- It's PLAYTIME! How to play with your child to help their development. (5 mins)
- This is not regular play, this is CHILD-LED PLAY - play to help child development (10 mins)
- Labels stick - how to talk with your child to increase their self esteem and confidence (8 mins)
- Tips to change your child's behaviour that actually work! Using descriptive praise (10 mins)
- Your child's behaviour is a way for them to communicate with you. Learn what their behaviour means (10 mins)
- Your Discipline Toolbox - Part 1. Change your child's behaviour but protect their mental health (11 mins)
- Your Discipline Toolbox - Part 2. How to maintain consistent boundaries and say "no" (10 mins)
- Your Discipline Toolbox - Part 3. How to make your household rules stick (6 mins)
- Communication and Listening - Part 1. What communication style do you use? (12 mins)
- Communication and Listening - Part 2. Getting your children to open up (9 mins)
- Communication and Listening - Part 3. Reflective Listening (12 mins)