How To Change Children's Behavior (Quickly)

By Steven T. Griggs, Ph.D.

Hi, my name is Dr. Griggs. I've been a psychologist in private practice for over two decades. I love writing ebooks on subjects that matter, and here's another one. I've spent years honing what works and what doesn't. I've read lots and lots of self-help books, and most of them sort of hit the mark. All of them have some fat. Mine hits the mark and has no fat. This one is clear, concise and is easy to read.
This ebook is about changing children's behavior. It gives practical techniques that parents can use right away, like the four-to-one rule. It gives parents understanding about rewards (reinforcers, for you psychology types). What are the three most effective qualities about rewards that make them work? I call them the three contingencies of reinforcemtns. Learn these and every other technique you can think of will explode your success with kids.
Yet, this ebook is not a parenting manual, because those books often focus too much on the content of daily living rather than the process of living daily. When you understand the dynamics of changing behavior, the "what" of your experience (the issue at hand) makes sense, and changing it to something else (a better behavior) becomes easy. This is content vs. process analysis. Process awareness is what parents need to understand and to make sense out of what their kids are doing (or not doing). Get this and watch your children change, almost magically.
There is a whole section on how to think about what children respond to and how children think. Why? Because when parents learn what children respond to and the way they respond to it, approaching their behavior becomes effective.
This section tells parents how to select the problem behaviors, and then to turn them around into their positive, opposite behavior. These are what we work with, and these are what make a huge difference, not just in behavior, but kid's moods, self-esteems.
Who should read this ebook? Parents, of course, but any adult who cares for any child. Teachers can use these techniques in the classroom, where they work en masse, not just on one or two kids. Instructors in classes for kids (swimming, karate, etc.) will have the same successes. Day care supervisors and after-school boys and girls club programs staff get good results using this material. Do you work with the developmentally disabled population? Aspergers? Apply my techniques and watch what happens. These techniques are right on. Lastly, this book is a must read for anyone working with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) kids, in or out of the classroom..
Why buy this ebook? Parents and children collide, just about every day. If this is not your case, you don't need what I have to offer. But most parents, teachers, etc. struggle with their children and/or students at some point, often regularly. These are the folks who should look at my publication. Conflict, especially regular conflict, is painful. My material changes the dynamics of behavior, hence reduces the pain. Even if there aren't a lot of problems, my material will change ordinary good behaviors into exemplary ones.
One parent told me I should put a disclaimer at the beginning of the ebook, stating something like, "WARNING, Your child will be too well behaved. You might have to sit down."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steven T. Griggs, Ph.D.
• Release date: Jan 21, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465722355

Steven T. Griggs, Ph.D.

I'm a psychologist. I write no-fat, how-to ebooks on subjects and conditions I fix everyday in the office. These include relationships, being assertive, struggling with guilt and/or procrastination, children and teenager's behavior, anxiety disorders, anger management, kids and divorce, self-esteem, child visitation, weight control, forgiveness, ADHD, addictions, and my latest, mood disorders. I've written 15 ebooks, and most of them are translated into Spanish. Now, I'm starting to write a book, "The Other Side of the Couch." It's about my daily experiences as an outpatient psychologist and how I see the world through the lense of a shrink...

Book preview

HOW TO CHANGE CHILDREN’S BEHAVIOR (QUICKLY)

By

Steven T. Griggs, Ph.D.

Copyright 2008

Published by Steven T. Griggs, Ph.D. at Smashwords

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Disclaimer

Introduction

Terms

-Reinforcer

--Positive

--Punishment

--Negative

The Three Contingencies

-Immediacy

-Consistency

-Constancy

More Terms

-Shaping

-Extinction

-Modeling

-Cueing

-Classical Conditioning

-Operant Conditioning

General Examples

The Four-To-One Rule

Speaking of Punishment

Two General Principles

Specific Examples

Underlying Psychological Conditions

Medication

Extreme Cases

Appendix A (Star Charts)

Appendix B (The 1-2-3 Rule of Disciplining)

References

DISCLAIMER

This monograph (single subject paper) is written to assist those who wish to learn about changing children’s behavior. The information given is straightforward and written in ordinary English. The information is presented in a manner that is not too technical (clinical) or overwhelming in detail, even though some terms and concepts are necessary. It is intended to be used by adults of reasonably sound mental states that wish to work on improving the behaviors of children (or others at large), using psychological techniques that are well known, in the standard literature or that have been adapted and/or modified by the author through years of outpatient clinical experience. The material in this monograph conforms to the general standards of the psychiatric and psychological professions in the United States..It is designed to assist people in general and is not meant to be a substitute for professional intervention. The author of this monograph does not claim the enclosed information will cure everyone's problem behaviors, only that it will help people and give the general reader a better sense of the range of ideas, concepts, terms and approaches in this area. Hence it is assumed that the reader has some normal or average competence and ability to read, think about and understand materials of this nature, and will seek professional help if necessary.

INTRODUCTION

I’m a child psychologist. I also have been trained to work with teenagers and adults of all ages. Over my many years of working with individuals and families, I have developed some very simple techniques that profoundly influence others’ behavior. When I say simple, I do not mean that everyone knows these things—-they don’t. And, when I say profoundly, I mean they are powerful and work quickly--instantly in some cases. I developed one technique only after observing successful families over one whole year. The other ones I swiped from B.F. Skinner (the rat psychologist) who never applied his findings to what I’m talking about. I put the two together to form a system--a way to think about behavior and many ways to positively change it. The best part is that my system is positive. The emphasis is not on punishment even though there is a place for that, if needed. It’s all based upon parenting techniques that are sort of good, then tweaked with hard research evidence of what really works and then applied warmly, with love--that makes them really good. I’ve been developing and using these ideas for years with very, very good results. Mothers leave my office shaking their heads after I’ve turned around monster children in a matter of minutes. Parents report a sharp increase in the quality of their relationships with their children. I’m trying to boil down very complex human processes into a

Reviews for How To Change Children's Behavior (Quickly)

[Lisette Suarez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read it in one seating. Amazing, easy to follow, funny. Just perfect. Thanks