Anti-Social Behavior
What is anti-social behavior?
Anti-social behaviour is defined as behaviour that is not appropriate for a particular environment. A student for example, yelling in a classroom, or jumping up and down is not appropriate behaviour for a classroom setting, so deemed antisocial behaviour. But, jumping up and down when the football team scores a goal is appropriate, not antisocial behaviour. So you look at antisocial behaviour in a context, in a given context if the behaviour isn't appropriate, it could be considered anti-social.
How does a child develop anti-social behavior?
Anti-social behavior is developed by responding to a particular environment of the youngster. Oftentimes the youngster isn't properly guided so that this behavior--the inappropriate behavior--usually works for the youngster. A good example is when he pulls "Sally's" hair in the classroom because he's afraid or nervous about taking that history test. He pulls the hair, he gets sent to the principal's office, now he doesn't have to face the history test; he's avoided that. So that anti-social behavior--he's responding to his environment in a way that he thinks is appropriate. So he needs to be re-educated in that area.
Will my child "grow out" of anti-social behavior?
It is possible for your child to grow out of anti-social behavior but not by himself. That's where you come in as a parent--where you detect that he's avoiding something or he's doing something that's not appropriate; then you have to develop a plan to help him redirect those energies so that they become appropriate so that in effect he handles whatever problem it is. Oftentimes if you need help, you consult the classroom teacher or you consult the counselor at the school level; and they can provide specific insights for you as a parent.
When should I seek professional help for a child who is acting anti-socially?
When you feel that your child is exhibiting anti-social behavior then you should try these interventions. Firstly you should consult with the classroom teacher and the school counselor. if you're not making head way, and you feel that your youngster's anti-social behaviour is getting more and more serious, then it's time to seek professional help. You may want to consult your physician, or perhaps there might be a counseling agency that your physician might recommend or potentially you have some community contacts in which you can get a therapist involved in helping you correct his anti-social behavior.
What should I when I can't control my child's anti-social behavior?
When your child exhibits antisocial behavior and if you feel that it is beyond your control or beyond the control of the school setting - in other words, if it is very serious - then you make contact with a community counselor, perhaps a physician, you get some guidance in that direction. Then you work as a team with that consultant from the outside to devise a plan to help your child correct those behaviors so that he eventually becomes again on the straight and narrow.
