How can I help my child who’s having trouble adjusting to preschool?
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
I’d encourage you to look beyond what happens just at school. Sometimes the key can be how your child behaves while at home around siblings, friends, or even you. In general, it’s rare for your son or daughter to simply be compliant and obedient in one setting and then act defiantly in another setting for no apparent reason.
There are a few things you can keep in mind or watch for when it comes to your preschooler’s behavior:
Are you consistently giving in to his or her demands? Are you allowing him or her to disobey when you try to establish rules or consequences?
Ask yourself: Am I providing a healthy balance of love and limits? In other words, are you focusing too much on unconditional love or enforcing boundaries? Achieving a healthy balance can lead to more positive behavior for your child.
Another aspect of child behavior at school is making sure mom and dad, or other authority figures, are on the same page with discipline, consequences, and boundaries. For more help on the topic of child behavior, explore our resources here.
Dr. Huerta oversees Focus’ initiatives that equip mothers and fathers with biblical and research based principles and guidance for raising healthy, resilient children rooted in a thriving faith in Christ.
Dr. Huerta is a bilingual psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, author of 7 Traits of Effective Parenting, and co-author of Focus on the Family’s Age and Stage resource, and various other resources. He is also the co-host and expert on the Focus on Parenting and the Practice Makes Parent podcasts.
For many years, he has provided families with practical, biblically-based, and research-based parenting advice on key parenting topics. He has been interviewed by various media outlets including Fox News, Fatherly, Christianity Today, WORLD Magazine, The Christian Post and CBN, and regularly speaks on Christian radio stations and podcasts across the United States. He’s also written for various publications and is a regular speaker at retreats, conventions, family camps, online events worldwide, and on various social media channels.
Dr. Huerta has maintained a private practice serving families in Colorado Springs since 2003 and has also served families as an employee of Focus on the Family since 2004.
He and his wife, Heather, love the outdoors, have been married since 1997, and love spending time with their two adult children.
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