Counselor’s Corner

By Ilene Conway, MSW

School Adjustment Counselor

How to Successfully Change Your Child’s Behavior: It’s Not Easy!

(Adapted from David Corcoran’s “An Overview of Applied Behavioral Analysis”)

Many parents ask themselves why their children engage in certain behaviors and the answer is a simple one. Behaviors happen because of what occurs immediately after. It is the consequence to the behavior that determines if the behavior will reoccur. A consequence is not a punishment it is a response or reaction a child receives or experiences as a result of his/her behavior

Many parents respond in a way that makes a child calm down(“giving in”) or keeps the child from experiencing a natural consequence, or allows a parent to sleep, or allows a parent to accomplish something (s)he needs to accomplish, or allows them to avoid dealing with a tantrum in that moment. Parents often chose the short-term solution which most often leads to an increase in problematic behaviors, rather than choosing the high demand behavioral intervention. It requires a great deal of time and energy to change behavior. In fact, children require a 7:1 ratio of positive reinforcers to negative reinforcers in order to change behavior.

(Next time: What are Natural and Logical Consequences to Negative Behaviors)