Causes of Misbehavior

There are four categories of causes of child misbehavior: short-term environmental issues, child genetics and temperament, parental genetics and personality, and parent-child interaction. Therapy can help with persistent misconduct.


What To Do When Kids Misbehave

When kids misbehave, parents can consult self-help books and talk with their pediatrician to determine if the level of misbehavior is expected or normal. For persistent issues, parents can ask a psychologist or psychiatrist.


Managing the Aggressive Child

Warning signs of notable aggression include physical aggression, high levels of noncompliance, outright defiance, and verbal aggression. You should not feel embarrassed to seek help for your child's behavior. It is best to ask questions early on.


Disciplining with Incentives

Parents should recognize children for good behavior and offer specific, explicit praise. Parents should involve children in discussions about incentive systems to discover the child's values and motivations.


Disciplining Using Time-Out

Time-outs can be useful for children aged two to eight. Successful time-outs require parents to be clear and consistent. Before starting time-outs, parents should plan the length and location of the time-out, and the behaviors that warrant a time-out.


Child Anxiety and Depression

Depression and anxiety can coincide. Warning signs include if your child starts avoiding things, withdraws from activities, or doesn't want to get out of bed. If these behaviors persist over a prolonged period, talk to your pediatrician.


Bedwetting Issues

Bedwetting is not considered an issue until age five. The first step to address this issue is seeing a pediatrician to rule out any medical conditions. An effective treatment is a urine alarm that helps children recognize when they have accidents.


Elimination Problems

If your child is holding onto bowel movements, see your pediatrician. Often, children avoid using the bathroom because of painful bowel movements. A pediatrician can prescribe medicine to help. If this doesn't work, a psychologist can also help.


Reaching Out for Help: First Session Preparation

When parents feel they've lost control of their child's behavior, they can attend behavioral parent training. Before meeting with the psychologist, make a list of issues you'd like to address and track those behaviors for one or two weeks prior.


Reaching Out for Help: The First Session

It is a misconception that behavioral therapy focuses on the child and fixing his or her problematic behaviors. Instead, it is more useful to work with the parents and teach them skills to help their child.


Reaching Out for Help: Kinds of Therapy

It is essential for parents to understand the different kinds of therapy and the professionals associated them. Psychiatrists can prescribe medication, while psychologists and social workers can provide behavioral training.


Reaching Out for Help: Questions for the Therapist

In initial conversations with a therapist, parents need to know the right questions to ask. Asking questions about the nature of the therapy, the therapist's experience, and the cost of the treatment will be necessary.


When Your Child Is Being Bullied

There are three major types of bullying: physical bullying, relational bullying, and cyberbullying. Parents need to be aware of the warning signs that their child is suffering harassment.


When Your Child Is a Bully

Bullying, at its core, is a behavior problem. There are many reasons why a child might start to bully. As a parent of a child who is exhibiting bullying behavior, it is essential to address it with the child and seek help if necessary.


Risks of Excessive Praise

Parents should be careful about when and how they praise their child. Psychologists urge parents to be very specific about the behavior that they are honoring to increase the chances of the child repeating the desired action.


Managing School Refusal

There are many reasons why school refusal can occur. Some children may not want to go to school for fleeting reasons, like fear of a test, whereas other children may require exposure therapy to overcome their school-related anxieties.


Managing Bedtime Problems

Starting bedtime rituals early in a child's life can help to prevent bedtime refusal behavior. If a child is exhibiting bedtime refusal behavior, some tactics can help.


A Parent's Story: Tommy

When Tommy's son Riley was around age four, Tommy and his wife noticed that Riley was not behaving like his peers. Riley would get very angry and have meltdowns. To learn how to help their son, Tommy and his wife attended therapy.


A Parent's Story: Joseph

When Joseph's son August was still having tantrums at age six, Joseph and his wife sought professional help. Through therapy, Joseph and his wife learned behavior correction techniques.


Psychologists In This Video Series:

Camilo Ortiz

Partner

Camilo Ortiz, Ph.D, ABPP, is a co director of Cognitive Behavioral Associates and an associate professor of psychology at Long Island University Post. He conducts research on parenting, disruptive behavior problems in children, elimination disorders, and cognitive behavior therapy for child and adult psychiatric disorders. He received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He completed a pre-doctoral internship at Montefiore Medical Center and a postdoctoral research fellowship at Stony Brook before joining the faculty at LIU-Post in 2001. He teaches courses in cognitive-behavior therapy and statistics in the doctoral program in clinical psychology. Dr. Ortiz is board-certified in Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy and a licensed psychologist in New York State, as well as a telehealth provider in Florida. He has made a number of media appearances to bring evidence-based clinical psychology to a broader audience.

Hilary Vidair

Director of Program Development

Hilary B. Vidair, Ph.D. is the director of program development at Cognitive Behavioral Associates and an associate professor in and former program director of the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at LIU Post. She earned her Ph.D. in combined clinical and school psychology from Hofstra University in 2005 and completed a 3-year National Institute of Mental Health research fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Her research focuses on engaging and treating parents in the context of child and adolescent treatments, using technology in therapy, and developing innovative strategies for training clinicians in evidence-based treatments. She is a licensed psychologist in New York State as well as a telehealth provider in Florida, practicing cognitive-behavioral and dialectical behavior therapy. She teaches a child and adolescent psychotherapy course and supervises doctoral students in cognitive-behavioral therapy and behavioral parent training. Dr. Vidair co-authored an upcoming book through the American Psychological Association focused on deliberate practice in behavioral parent training.

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