Warning Signs of Aggressive Behavior in Your Child

Most of us have witnessed at least one good tantrum, but will kids just grow out of that? How can you tell if it’s time to get help for aggressive behavior?

FOX’s Lisa Brady reports in this week’s “FOX on Family”:

Nobody wants their kid throwing a grocery store tantrum. But that’s not unusual for a two-year-old:

(Dr. Seifert) “They don’t have sufficient language to say, mommy I need x, y and z. And the other thing they don’t have is the ability to wait for whatever it is that they want; those are developmental things.”

Psychologist Dr. Kathy Seifert says beyond first grade, throwing a tantrum or hitting may be a red flag to get help, which parents tend to do if a child isn’t walking or talking by a certain age:

(Dr. Seifert) “In order to help move their developmental process along, and so their social abilities are no different. What should they be doing at a particular age and can they do it or do they need help?”

She urges parents to act; help now could prevent more problems later. Another red flag is frequent aggressive behavior, every week not once in a while.

How a child most often behaves around others will show if they’re learning boundaries and maturing properly.

With FOX on Family, I’m Lisa Brady.

To help with development and discipline, Dr. Seifert favors positive reinforcement. She says if’s more effective to reward a child for something done the right way than to punish them for bad behavior. For instance, letting them watch their favorite show if they finish cleaning their room by the time it starts. She’s also the creator of a free app that can help predict future violence in children. It’s called CARE-2, the Child & Adolescent Risk Evaluation screening tool.