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Behavior
modification refers to using strategies to get a child to change a
behavior. Many popular parenting advice books refer to behavior
modification as a punishment system that works to get a child to stop
something that the parent determines is inappropriate or unsafe, for
instance, using spanking, time-out or isolation. Although
advocated in parenting books, the effectiveness and possible
harmfulness of time-out and isolation has not been addressed in
professional research. In addition, some professionals refer to
these techniques as power assertive techniques, meaning the adult
asserts his power over the less powerful child. Research that
addresses power assertive parents shows that this way of disciplining
leads to decreased social skills and lower moral development. Taken together, we believe that techniques like time-out and spanking can be replaced with discipline techniques that promote learning appropriate behavior while maintaining self-esteem and positive social development of children. This website includes developmental characteristics of toddlers that sometimes lead to challenging behaviors and alternitive discipline techniques to use to teach appropriate behavior. We have also included information from parent interviews, discipline from a toddler's perspective, and resources about this subject. |