1. Punishment will change bad behavior.
2. More reminders lead to better behavior.
3. Explaining to your child why a behavior is wrong will lead him to stop that behavior.
4. Lots of praise just spoils your child.
5. Doing it once or twice means your child can do it regularly.
6. My other child did not need extra training, so this child shouldn’t need it either.
7. My child is just being manipulative.

The real story is that:

You can get rid of almost any misbehavior by rewarding the positive opposite behavior.

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Ignore misbehavior whenever possible – especially attention seeking misbehaviors
like: whining, complaining, moping or “water power.”

Two potential problems with ignoring –

1. Child may raise the ante – the misbehavior gets worse before it gets better.
2. Child may also become aggressive to force attention from the parent. You can give a time out or take away a privilege for kicking or hitting. Stay calm. Use neutral, disinterested tone of voice

Build the foundation for positive behavior – Each day give 20 minutes of uninterrupted, quality attention to each child:

• Be “present” Put aside your behavior goals
• Put aside your own “agenda” Take delight in your child
• Be interested in your child — relax, enjoy, listen, watch, describe