Positive Attention

Parenting is an incredible experience however it is widely accepted that it is also a very challenging one. Understanding why children behave as they do and why parents respond as they do supports the parent-child relationship. Most often parents are easily led into focusing on what children don’t do the ‘negative’ behaviours.  Causing parents to continuously look at consequences and correcting a child’s behavior, which makes life tough for both child and parent. It can feel at times for the child that they cannot succeed and for parents that nothing works, leaving a negative energy between parent and child. The key is to focus on what your child is doing well, even if this requires looking deeply, find what they do well, the smallest of things and start there – move the energy away from noticing ‘negative’ behaviours to ‘positive’ behaviours. We all crave attention and children will seek attention in whatever way it comes, so allow them the opportunity to seek positive attention.