Many parents teach their infants bad habits and it follows them through their toddler years and into their elementary years. Some parents start letting their children sleep in the same bed as them when they are infants. Parents often wake up and rock their children back to sleep, or they lay next to them in their bed when they are toddlers. It is easy to stop asking your child to clean up after themselves and you start becoming a slave to them. Most parents assume their children will outgrow the behavior and bad habits they have picked up during infancy and their toddler years, however it actually gets worse. Parents need to stop encouraging the bad habits now because children are adaptable to change. They will learn to adjust quickly if you set some rules and stick to them.

A common problem for elementary-aged children is talking back to their parents. As children grow and learn new things, they often become more independent from their parents. They can learn disrespectful behavior by watching their parents and other people. Children that lash out against authority figures may have learning problems, behavioral problems, or problems at home. In order to determine what is at the root cause of your child's bad habits, you need to evaluate a few things.

First, you need to look at your child's behavior and decide what the bad habits are and what the good habits are. Look at the common ways they show disrespect to you and to others. Take a look at the way they interact with their friends and their siblings. Do they commonly pick on their friends or order them around? Once you have the bad habits separated from the good ones you can start looking for the root of the problem.

Second, when your child acts out or participates in bad behavior, take a look at what provoked it. Did they lash out at a teacher because they felt embarrassed? Did they become upset because their brother or sister was bothering them?

Third, take a good look at your behavior and they way in which you respond to your child. If you yell and scream at your child, they will understand that it is okay to yell and scream at others. If your child isn't listening to you, look at the way you talk to them. Find out why your discipline isn't working. Are you consistent with your rules? Do you discipline all your children or just one child more than the others? Do you reward their good behavior instead of always looking for the negative behavior? Take a deep breath before you respond to your child to avoid saying something that you will regret later. Look at the way you interact with your spouse and your other children. Try your best to control your emotions and never have an argument with your spouse in front of your children. Even having an argument behind closed doors needs to be controlled. You both need to set ground rules about arguments and agree that there will be no yelling, screaming, or name-calling. Rational discussions are simpler and your child will not grow up learning that it is okay to yell and scream when they don't get their way.

One of the largest problems for parents is creating a punishment for bad behavior and sticking to it. When you don't remain consistent with your discipline, children will take advantage of it and they will not take you seriously when you discipline them. Parents that work a lot often feel guilty not being home as much as they want to so they let bad behavior slip by far too often. Even parents that are home with their children can be overrun by them because they are inconsistent with their rules. You and your children need to sit down and determine what acceptable behavior is. Let them know your expectations for them are at school and in other social situations. Without a prior knowledge of expected behavior, children may not be aware that they are doing anything wrong.

Acceptable behavior for children depends on their age, personality, emotional and physical development. Parents will determine if their child has acceptable behavior if it is socially and culturally accepted. Parents must also understand that children will learn different things at different ages. You cannot parent a 16 year-old the same way you can with a 7 year-old. Children need to be recognized for their good behavior. Often children will portray disruptive behavior when the good behavior is ignored. Never reward a behavior and then punish it later on, this only confuses your child.

One of the best ways to stop bad behavior before it begins is to simply ignore it. Ignoring the unwanted behavior will teach your child that they will not get attention from you when they act this way. You can also use the "time out" discipline method when you are punishing bad behavior. This teaches your child that you will not only ignore them but that they have to be punished by sitting in a corner alone, without the privilege of playing or doing things they want.

You need to use the time out method when your child is becoming violent or having a temper tantrum. The time out area needs to be uninteresting to the child. The best thing about time out is that you can use it anywhere. If your child misbehaves at the park, you can make them go and sit under a tree that is close by. Before you immediately place them in time out, you need to warn them that if they continue their bad behavior that they will be punished. By giving them a warning, they will learn to correct their behavior on their own to avoid sitting in time out. Do not yell or become upset with your child. Calmly walk them to the time out corner and tell them they are to remain there until you come and get them. Make sure you keep track of how long your child is in time out. Time out doesn't need to be long, as this only makes children stop obeying it. The general rule of thumb is to place a child in time out for one minute for each year of age. Time out may be hard for children that have never been disciplined before. If they get up out of time out, simply walk over and put them back in time out and consider resetting the timer. They need to remain there until they have calmed down. After their punishment is over, look for ways to reinforce their good behavior to help them avoid being punished again.

Create good routines for your children. Some children tend to dawdle when they do not want to do something, like brushing their teeth before bed or picking up their toys. Use the reward system to fix their bad habits. You need to select a reward that is desirable to the child. This can be something like an extra 15 minutes of computer games or playing outside longer. You can even keep a chart that tracks their good behavior with points. Once they have a set number of points, they can go to the store and pick out a new toy. You need to clearly explain the desired behavior to your child and follow-through with the reward. Do not repeat the desired behavior to your child each night; simply keep a chart that tracks their progress so they can be reminded on their own. If your child chooses not to change their bad habits, they do not get the reward.

Another easy way to change their bad habits is to use a timer. Some children dawdle and are easily distracted. Give them a certain task, such as getting ready in the morning, and set the timer. Let them know that if they are ready by the time the bell rings, they can get a star or a point on their chart. Once they have enough points collected, they can get a reward.

Keep a list of the house rules on the fridge or in a visible area. You can easily avoid power struggles with your children when you have a set list of rules. Talk them over with your children before they break them and explain the consequences of breaking one of the rules. Do not be extreme with your expectations and do not be inconsistent. Remember to look for good behavior and reward it.

Each child is different, make sure to accept your child for who they are and set your discipline accordingly. Just because your child is talkative doesn't mean they are trying to talk over you or their siblings. Encourage them to control their behavior by changing little things. Never criticize your child in front of their friends or others; it may be hard to take criticism in front of their own siblings. Never describe them as a bad child, only describe their behavior as bad. Give them plenty of love and attention and their bad habits will start to disappear.