Parenting and Childhood Behavior Problems

By John Mays, MEd, CHT

Midlife Refocus

. https://www.midliferefocus.com/

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Parenting and Childhood Behavior Problems

Parenting a child can be very challenging. Many parents in Northern Virginia have full time jobs and multiple demands placed on them. We all do the best that we can, given the level of experience and education that we have gained in life.

Childhood and adolescence is a time for developing more independence. Typically, young children and adolescents exercise their independence by questioning and sometimes breaking rules. Parents, teachers, and doctors must distinguish minor behavioral problems from those that requires professional intervention.

Parents can quickly become overwhelmed when dealing with the stressors of normal life. When confronted with the stress of raising a child with defiant behaviors, the parent can become frustrated and lose hope.

Signals for Help

The childhood and adolescent signals for help include not only deviant behaviors, but also the presence of other problems in the family or tensions at home or school. For example, problems in the parents’ marriage or frequent arguments or hostility among the parents can also be involved in the adolescent’s behavior problems. The problem behaviors and other family issues can interact and feed off each other, so that it is hard to tell where it started.

Behavioral treatments that focus on the family can also be useful in helping adults develop their parenting skills, deal with stress, and work on building child/parent relationships. Many parent aids have demonstrated promising positive results. Professionals, such as family therapists, are there to help the adolescent and family gain understanding of the relationship dynamics and background issues that may be influencing the problem, and come up with beneficial solutions.