Vol. 1, No. 1 • Spring 1997
Effective Ignoring
Don't use ignoring for behaviors that can be dangerous to the child or to someone else (for example, playing with a light socket, hitting a much younger sibling, using dangerous objects, or very violent temper tantrums). See "Ignoring: An effective way to change some behaviors."
If the behavior is one that is safe to ignore, here's how:
- Choose just one behavior to ignore at a time.
- Determine if you can ignore it, even if the behavior increases.
- Make sure other key family members will also ignore the behavior.
- Get specific about the behavior you are concerned about.
- Discuss your plan once or twice with the child.
- Consistently ignore the target behavior every time it occurs.
- Expect an increase in the undesired behavior you are concerned about.
- If the undesired behavior does not begin to decrease after a week of consistent ignoring, you might want to consider another type of intervention.
- Give positive attention to the child whenever you see appropriate behaviors replacing the undesired behavior.
- Hang in there--ignoring is HARD!
� 1981 Project Enlightenment, Wake County Public School System. 501 S. Boylan Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27603. Reprinted with permission.
Copyright � 2000 Jordan Institute for Families