Use Alternatives for Parental Control

Most parents must have encountered this situatioin at one time or another. Your child wants to do something, or play with something that is unsuitable or dangerous and when you try to stop them or take it away all hell breaks loose.

This is always one fo the biggest trials that any parent must face. Positive parenting involving tolerance and lots of praise is well known to contribute toward the development of social competence and self confidence. But parents always need to remain in charge.

A typical toddler can be told to stop doing what they are doing up to as much as 20 times in every hour. How would you like to be told what to do or what not to do once every three minutes?

Parents often need to assert control when a child is doing what comes naturally but can be risky to them or to others around them. Putting a knife in their mouths, poking their baby brother in the eye or hanging out of a window are examples of how children may be investigating the world around them, but in a risky manner.

Giving the child an alternative can be an excellent way to allow them to continue to safely investigate and learn. You may, for example, sway the metal knife for a safe spoon or maybe a plastic knife. Or get them to poke themselves in the eye so that they know how much it can hurt.

Using alternatives can be a great way to effectively avoid tantrums, but they don’t always work. Its important to first acknowledge what the child is trying to do before suggesting and introducing an alternative. Its then important to encourage the child to engage with the alternative by using it yourself and convincing the child that it is more interesting than whatever they were doing before.

There are goind to be many occasions when it isn’t possible or convenient to provide alternatives but these can provide a valuable lesson that the world has its limits. Providing yourr children with appealing alternatives to dangerous or harmful behavior can be a great way to develop a positive relationship and teach them that other options often exist.

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I recommend camping as a great way to bond with children, to provide them with freedom to investigate the world around them and engage with their parents or carers. But always remember to ensure safety by using the right camping equipment. You may like to take part in a bushcraft course where children will learn a variety of skills including how to handle a bushcraft knife, start a fire without matches and tracking skills.