Tips for Dealing with Difficult Behavior

How do you handle a challenging situation with your child?

Eagle Ranch provides families an opportunity for a therapeutic break. Providing separation and a new environment lead to a new perspective and willingness to work on problems. Children and their families work with a Licensed Counselor that helps facilitate individual, group and family counseling on a regular basis. Counseling helps to address the root of the struggle; identify healthier ways of communicating; develop better ways of relating and connecting; resolve family power struggles.

Whether you’re married, divorced, a single parent, a grandparent, aunt, uncle or a guardian for a child, you will meet families just like yours and receive additional support from a community of peers. Your child and family will also have daily support from caring Houseparents and Program Assistants in the home.

Tips for Dealing with Difficult Behavior:

1. Decision-Making & Choices: One goal of parenting is to help your child become a good decision maker. Give your child opportunities to practice making decisions on their own. Make sure your child understands the consequences that exist for the choice they are making.
2. Give Consequences: Allow your child the opportunity to experience the impact of his or her decision. Sometimes consequences are natural (not studying = poor grades) and others times they are set-up by you (poor grades = losing the cell phone).
3. Have Support: Find community with others who are in the same stage of parenting. Church, sports, and school can all offer great opportunities to find other parents who can encourage you (and who you can encourage) in the hard work of parenting.
4. Be Consistent: Even when it is inconvenient and frustrating, give the consequences your child has chosen. Get everyone who is parenting the child on the same page.
5. Ask For Help: When it seems like things just aren’t getting better, ask your pastor or school counselor for a community resource.