Four-year-old Tristan began to have trouble at daycare because of his stubborn behavior. His teachers were frustrated and he was often physical with the other children when he was challenged.
Josh and Sherri, Tristan’s parents, knew that their son’s behavior needed some adjustment, but nothing they tried seemed to work. Katie, a Mental Health Specialist from Rainbows, went to Tristan’s daycare to observe his behavior. She recommended to the family that they read books to Tristan with good behavior examples. “The books are great,” said Josh, “they help Tristan count to 10 when he is mad and to take his time when he is learning new tasks.” Now Tristan can walk away from an argument and has some positive options when he doesn’t get his way.
Katie also helped the family develop a rewards system for positive behavior. Tristan earns positive behavior points and can turn them in for prizes he picked out in advance. For a larger prize, he must save up his points. “The positive behavior rewards system works well,” said Josh. “He likes getting the points and prizes and his positive behaviors have improved. Our house is much more calm now.”
