Managing a child’s behaviour outside the home environment

The above video on Managing a child’s behaviour outside the home environment is part of a behaviour management workshop organised by Nayi Disha with child psychologist, Dr Gouri Reddy.

One of the key strategies to reduce unwanted behavioural outcomes in your child when faced with a new environment and audience is to prepare the child beforehand. For children who are non-verbal, parents can use visual aids to communicate the following.

• Sit the child down and describe the plan, down to the details about preparing to be disciplined for an outdoor setting.
• Tell your child what to expect every step of the way, and set a routine. Then get your answers from the child on what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Once the child takes ownership of the situation and the onus has now been placed on the child, it becomes easier to take control of situations indoors as well as outdoors
• Stick to the plan without any detours. For example, if the new outdoor setting for the child is a visit to the mall to buy him/her new clothes, then ensure only that features in the list of things to do at the mall. Adding unexpected additions can increase the chances of the child expressing his/her discontent at the sudden change of plans.
• Notably, parents must be conscious of what they expect if they sway from what was promised to the child. For example, unwanted behavioural modifications can be avoided when attending a friend’s birthday party. This may possibly be one such situation where your child who is on a special diet cannot have cake. Preparing the child to come to you for diet-specific food or drink may help calm his/her nerves and hunger pangs at the appropriate time and place, thus avoiding an undesirable behavioural outcome.

The video talks about and discusses different ways of handling the child in a new and unfamiliar setting, outside the home. This video helps you in identify and understand different ways of managing a child’s behaviour outside the home environment

The workshop videos have been split into multiple parts. You can check out the video on what is behaviour?  environment, The ABC chart, Positive and negative reinforcement, Responding to a child’s behaviour and Parent Q&A.

You may download this template of the Behaviour management ABC chart here, and use it to address your child’s behaviour challenges in a context-dependent fashion.

If you have questions about Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, or other intellectual disabilities, or have concerns about developmental delays in a child, the Nayi Disha team is here to help. For any questions or queries, please contact our FREE Helpline at 844-844-8996. You can call or what’s app us. Our counselors speak different languages including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, and Bengali.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that this guide is for information purposes only. Please consult a qualified health practitioner for safe management.