How to Get Children to Take Responsibility for Their Actions

Helping children learn to take responsibility for their actions is no easy feat for parents. Children need to learn that actions have consequences, and they need to understand how to handle those consequences effectively. Teaching this lesson to children will take time and patience on your part and on your child's part. Being a good role model and taking responsibility for your own actions can help make it an easier lesson for your children to learn.

Instructions

    • 1

      Be a positive role model for your children. Taking responsibility for your own actions will help your children to understand the importance of doing it themselves. It will also give children a template to follow when it comes to being responsible for themselves.

    • 2

      Allow your child to experience the natural consequences of her actions. This will help her to understand that every action she does will have some result, either positive or negative. Learning how to handle negative natural consequences is a start to taking responsibility for your actions.

    • 3

      Explain to your child how his actions are affecting the people around him. Some children may learn responsibility faster if you appeal to their sense of empathy. If a child realizes his actions have hurt a sibling's feelings or disappointed his parents, he might be more likely to take responsibility for what he has done wrong.

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      Sit down with your child and develop a list of unacceptable behaviors with subsequent consequences. Have your child help with the list and consequences. Ask your child what she thinks is a fair consequence for any particular action. Write everything down and make copies for every child. Hang one copy in a central location where every can see it. Take the child to the rule chart each time an expectation is broken and have her follow through with the appropriate consequence.

    • 5

      Talk to your child after each misbehavior and follow through on consequences. Consistency is the key to getting children to continue to take responsibility for their actions. Allowing your child a pass on even one occasion will let him believe he does not always have to be responsible for himself.

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