There was a time long long ago that I would say to a child, ‘Just ignore them’ when it came to their brother, sister or friend annoying them. Now I think it is one of the last things I would suggest. I have realised that the best way of how to deal with annoying behaviour is not ignoring them in all situations. With some children of course it will work. The child will get bored of being ignored and stop. In other cases, the brother/sister/child would just continue to be even more annoying so they finally get a response from the other child.
However, there are so many other wonderful suggestions we can give our children when they want to reduce another person’s irritating and aggravating behaviour. Most of them use some kind of comebacks. Comebacks are a great way to show the other person that you are not going to be a pushover. They show the other person you have feelings and respect yourself to be treated a certain way. We don’t want to insult them but we can be a bit clever……
Children And How To Deal With Others Annoying Behaviour
- You can say something witty back that stops them in their tracks
- Agree with what they are saying without it touching your heart
- In a calm voice say something assertive like, ‘I am sorry I do not deserve to be treated like that’
- Say ‘why would you say that?’
- Say ‘Really’? Or ‘So?’ Or ‘And your point is?’
Words can be very powerful. Teach your child to use them rather than hitting the other person or insulting them back. They need to be the bigger person and respond in a civil yet ‘I am not going to be lowered to your standards’ way. How does your child deal with annoying behaviour?
If you would like help with your child’s behaviour then please get in touch with me. Alternatively take a look at my books that can help.
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