Parenting is an incredibly rewarding and challenging experience.
At times, it can feel like a real roller coaster of emotions – particularly if your child or young person is behaving in ways that feel difficult to manage or understand.
If your child’s behaviour is challenging at the moment, it might feel exhausting. But things can change. With support, both of you can experience a more positive family life. On this page, we’ve got lots of ideas and strategies to help you deal with difficult moments.
Why do children and young people behave in challenging ways?
The way your child behaves is a communication about how they’re feeling.
When your child is acting out, it can be helpful to think about the image of an iceberg. We only see the top of an iceberg because most of it is underwater. Similarly, when your child is behaving in challenging ways, there will be feelings going on under the surface that you cannot see. Your child may not be aware of these feelings and may need your help to talk about them.
Underneath their behaviour, a child or young person may be feeling angry, tired, stressed, anxious, confused, hurt, jealous, bored or something else. Whatever's going on, try to remember that the behaviour you see on the surface is not the whole story.
For practical and helpful parenting tips you can implement straight away, follow this link:
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/
