How to turn a brat into a decent child

Recently, on a visit to a friend’s home, I witnessed the kind of havoc undisciplined children can cause. The children made so much noise that passers by must have thought there was a problem in the household. Interestingly, the visiting parents didn’t seem to find any problem with the ruckus and noise their children were making until a riot broke out. The host children soon were up in arms against the injustice visited upon their toys: theier toys were being mishandled and literally dismembered mercilessly. It was then that the parents of the troublesome lot (visiting children), awoke from their lethargy to save the situation. This brings us to the question: What have we as parents done to cultivate good behaviour in our children? No matter how busy we think we are, we must spend time studying and teaching our children proper behaviour. Next time you are out visiting with your children, watch out for the following tendencies they may show; *Monopolising conversation *Bullying *making too many negative comments or put-downs about their fellow children or adults *Getting angry when others do not do things their way *Bad table manners. Helping our kids learn good behaviour requires patience time and most importantly, love. Target one behavioural problem at a time and then monitor any change in your child. In correcting the children, let us not go into rages when they do something wrong. Such military show of annoyance may work in the army but children may misinterpret it as a show of dislike towards them. At the end of the day, they treat other kids the way they are treated at home. Below are some of the pointers on how to handle bad habits. Monopolising conversation Let your child learn to actively listen to others. Teach them to ask questions about the other kid especially if the child in question is new in the neighbourhood. This in the long run reduces chances of your child being egocentric. Loud conversations Teach your child to speak in low tones. Girls for example, must be taught that ladies must not shout in public or any where else for that matter. Children who shout are often rejected by their peers and end up being isolated in games and other social activities. Children that make negative comments Teach your children to appreciate people around them. Teach them to compliment their peers and hold their peace when the other party is, for example poorly dressed. This however a child will learn if the parents and other family members do it. Domineering and selfish children This problem unfortunately is common among adults especially when our ideas and suggestions are ignored, we tend to grumble and whine. Similarly, children fall prey to this trait and need to be taught that their ideas may not always be right or acceptable to others. Teach your children to respect other peoples opinion at a young age and the world shall see a new generation of managers. Behaviour at table Poor table manners must be firmly handled because at a certain point in their lives, they may be embarrassed. And as the saying goes, “you cannot teach an old dog new tricks”, teach your children now when they are still willing to learn.