Parent-child conflict is a common problem these days. The children break the rules and misbehave with the elders. If you find it difficult to make your child obey you, behavior contracts can help you. You can easily create a discipline plan which your child would have to follow. The misscommunication between the parents and the children can be avoided by a contract which would be mutually agreed upon.
Whether you want your kid to study well or want them to spend less time playing games, behavior contracts can be a good option. The written agreement would be an effective tool to make your child understand his / her responsibilities and also prevent them from anti-social activities and crimes.
Many parents think that punishment can make their child obey them. It is absolutely wrong. Temporary changes may be reflected in the child due to the punishment. But when you need a long term solution to the problem, behavior contract can work well. If you want your the wrong or bad behavior not to reappear, contracts can be beneficial.
You can mention the rules and the expectations in the behavior contract. The positive and negative consequences can also be written to avoid any confusions. Discussing the expectations with the child can also help you define the consequences. Spend some time with your children to discuss the points to be mentioned in the contract. This would make the enforcement easier. Try not to impose something on your child. You need to be focused on defining the expectations and the consequences, whether positive or negative.
Be ready to perform the consequences which are mentioned in the agreement. If you put a consequence that you would take your family for a vacation if your child scores well in the exams, you will have to fulfill the consequence. In case if you agreed upon not giving the monthly allowance to your children if he / she spends most of the time playing video games, make sure that you fulfill it.
One needs to be clear while setting up the standards in the contracts. For example, if you want your child to spend less than an hour daily for watching TV, synchronize your watches to avoid the confusion. When the contract is prepared, you can monitor the progress of the child.
Research has shown that if the behavior contracts are revised from time to time, it can be beneficial for both the parties. The agreements can be redefined for greater efficiency. The reward system works well for most of the families. You can agree upon giving some reward to your child if the points mentioned in the contract are obeyed properly. Rewarding system would help your child to get motivated to stick to the rules and regulations mentioned in the contract.
Behavior contracts can help you and your child build stronger relationships. You can use them for the children at any age and notice the progress in your child within no time. A positive learning environment can be created by signing a behavior contract.
Jade Robinson has more than 18 years of experience working with Teens and Adolescents. Using his experience, he has developed a system (called Home Contract) that allows parents to easily set up new boundaries and rules with their teens. It is an ideal and effective way to improve a particular habit by implementing a home based behavior contract. More details at HomeContract.Org
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