Ep #75: Dealing with angry outbursts using Correcting Behaviors

Dealing with angry outbursts or tantrums can be frustrating and exhausting.    The skill of Correcting Behaviors helps parents respond to negative behavior in a way that keeps the problem from escalating.   Correcting Behaviors gives parents the steps they need to help their child understand what is happening and gives them a way to channel their anger or frustration.   Children have outbursts or tantrums because they are feeling large emotions and don’t know how to process them. Common emotions that lead to outbursts include being frustrated, worried, scared, tired, hungry, or overwhelmed.    An angry outburst or a tantrum is your child’s way of letting you know they need help to deal with their emotions. Instead of making the problem worse, using Correcting Behaviors gives a child an off-ramp for their behaviors and emotions. The steps of Correcting Behavior are:   Get your child's attention  Express empathy Describe the negative behavior Deliver a consequence for that behavior Describe what you want instead Give a meaningful reason why they should do the new behavior Role-play the new behavior until the child is comfortable In this episode we walk through how to teach these steps to families. When making behavior changes most parents think that they’ll find the most success by focusing on changing their child. In reality, the greatest change happens when the parent first makes changes. By changing one part of the system (how a parent responds) the entire system changes.   Learning behavior skills isn’t a quick fix, but it is a lasting fix.   To learn the skill of Correcting Behaviors, visit: https://www.smarterparenting.com/skills/correcting-behaviors/   For full transcript and show notes visit: https://www.smarterparenting.com/adhd-parenting-podcast/