Getting Up to Speed on Problem Behavior

How do you know that your child is immune to problem behavior? Are you up to speed on what is going on?

Let me give you a few examples about problem behavior. Maryland has just passed into law stiffer penalties for anybody in possession of child pornography. As a lot of kids are into ‘sexting’ with their mobile phones, that is exchanging nude photos, they may get caught up in a child pornography ring. That could spell problem behavior with a capital P , if that were to happen. Forewarned is forearmed but you can get help with how to deal with this in any behavior modification program which will help you to monitor your kids’ use of phones and Internet.

The second type of problem behavior which could arise is the possibility of drug addiction among kids. I was quite shocked to learn only about 4% of parents believe that their sons and daughters of 9 -11 years old could possibly be into the drugs scene. The real figure comes from the kids themselves because their statistics put the figure at 25% ! The parents’ figure is incredibly low because they themselves do not want to believe it and subconsciously shut out warning signs.

How on earth can you tell that your kid might be experimenting with drugs? Here are few things to look out for. Keep an eye out for marihuana joints or anything else connected with drug addiction. If these are being left around, it could be an indication that they are no longer in control of their addiction. Has there been any trouble with the law recently such as a shoplifting charge or some other minor offence?. If there are signs in a change of habits such as no longer participating in some sports or church activities and you notice some new friends on the scene, this may be another indicator. If your child is sullen and or depressed and very defensive about his activities and movements, this could be another warning sign. Changes in appetite , burn marks on lips or skin and sores that you never noticed before could be other signs. Last but not least, if they have money problems or refuse to tell you how they are spending their allowance, this could be another red light.

There may be other signs of problem behavior which have nothing to do with drugs or child pornography and which will seem minor in comparison with the above scenarios. But problem behavior such as lying, bullying, aggression, violent behavior, frequent meltdowns are all signs that there is a problem. The best way out of all this is to get help and to seek out a behavioral therapy program which will help you to get back in control and ensure that your child or teenager is on the road to becoming a responsible well balanced adult.