Have you ever had to deal with a mischievous child? Stubborn behavior and a defiant manner often seem humorous while the child is extremely young. But once your kid reaches the age where he/she can attend school, such precocious behavior can quickly be seen as detrimental to a social environment. Bad behavior can affect teachers, parents, and other students.

To rein in your unruly children, child development classes experts promote that parents be sure to set clear boundaries and rules - then stick to them. Do not be ambiguous. Your child needs to know the exact behavior expected of him/her. Child experts tell us that children actually want boundaries. Child experts maintain that once these rules and barriers are firmly established, most children will respect the rules.

Unruly behavior is often times a desperate cry for attention. Try spending time with your child and just having fun with them. You do not have to plan activities every minute of the day. Spending time can entail simply taking your child along when you run errands or allowing him to do his homework at the kitchen table while you cook. This fosters feelings of togetherness and may reduce unruly behavior that stems from insecurity.

One additional piece of advice for parents is to set logical punishments for your children. The key takeaway is to set a reasonable punishment that will allow you to get results. Punishments for all children are different. Some may respond to punishments such as a grounding. Others will only respond to punishments such as reducing an allowance. Just remember to avoid setting chores as potential punishments. Children should be instilled with the mentality that chores are not punishments; they are a necessary part of being in a family.

Condition your children to understand that bad behavior is bad, and good behavior is good. This will facilitate the process of converting unruly children to well behaved children. You can accomplish this by rewarding your child's good behavior. Positive reinforcement carries a strong message to your child. Children who receive praise for good acts try harder to behave in a similar fashion in order to continue receiving the same praise.