This archive report was first published on 9 July 2020.
Five Reasons Your Child is Acting Out and How to Handle It ¶
Parenting comes with its own set of challenges, and one of the biggest challenges is when children act out. Audrey Masitsa shares five reasons why children act out and how to handle it.
Published on July 9, 2020, Audrey Masitsa, a parent, shares her experience with her daughter acting out and the various reasons behind it. She notes that children act out for a variety of reasons, including hunger or exhaustion, which can be easily resolved with food or a nap. However, there are times when their acting out is a sign of an underlying issue that they don’t know how to deal with.
According to Audrey, the five reasons why children act out are:
- Outside influence, including you
- Anger
- Worry
- Fear
- Frustration
She explains that when children act out because of outside influence, it's essential to remind them that in your home, you try to speak to people with kindness. If they're mirroring you, apologize for your behavior and aim to do better next time.
When children act out due to anger, it's crucial to validate their emotions and help them express their anger. Talking about what is making them upset can help them move on quickly.
Change can bring about worry and make children act out. To handle this, validate their feelings, find out what exactly is worrying them, and provide solutions.
Children might start acting out because they are afraid. Reassure them that they are in a safe place and help them find coping mechanisms so that they learn how to handle their fears in the future.
Lastly, frustration is another reason why children act out. If you notice that your child is acting out because of frustration, help them understand that we all have frustrations and the best way to get past them is to keep trying until we accomplish what we’ve set out to do.
