Change Young Children's 'Naughty' Behaviour With A Positive Discipline Approach
Everything you need the know about toddlers and young children's behaviour and how to handle it in the most effective way.
Hallo everyone. Thank you for enrolling in this course about difficult behaviour. This is truly something we all have to handle from time to time, whether you are a parent, teacher or therapist.
I’m Marinda Botha, an Educational Psychologist and your lecturer for this course. As a professional I understand a lot about children and their behaviour and as a mother of two I understand that the struggle is real, even with all the knowledge in the world.
For this reason, I am going to aim to provide you with enough knowledge to understand difficult behaviour and also enough practical tips to apply that knowledge and handle the behaviour at home, in the classroom or your private practice.
We have an enormous responsibility to teach children what is acceptable and what not so that they can fit in, have friends and ultimately be happy and well adjusted.
To help you make the information in this course your own, I urge you to download the guided notes for each module and to complete them as you go through the material. This is a proven way to remember and to apply information that you study. Make notes of the things that you want to implement so that you don’t forget the ideas and tips that you wanted to try.
After completing this course, you will understand why discipline is important and what it should look like. You will understand behaviour better, what is considered age-appropriate and why children do what they do. You will be equipped to handle difficult behaviour and know when it becomes something more for which you should seek professional help.
You will also have various resources that you can download to help you motivate, guide and understand behaviour in your home or classroom. I hope that you will enjoy using these practical resources and that they will make things a little bit easier for you.
I’m excited to go on this journey with you!
Your Instructor
I started teaching in 2004 while still studying. After completing my Education degree at the University of Johannesburg in 2006, I took a special interest in psychology. I went on to complete my Psychometry Honours and Educational Psychology Masters Degree at the University of Pretoria and qualified as an Educational Psychologist in 2009.
I remained in the schooling system with my role changing from educator to school psychologist where I got the opportunity to address a lot of the issues I saw in the classroom on an individual basis.
In addition, I also entered private practice and qualified as a BabyGym instructor in 2009. My focus was on developmental classes with moms and their babies, the prevention of learning difficulties, learning difficulties, emotional difficulties, career guidance, accommodations/concessions and school readiness. I especially enjoyed giving parents guidance as I felt that the parent’s role in the intervention process were crucial for success.
The fact that parents often felt left in the dark with regards to their children’s therapy or the education system, sparked my interest in training even further.
Demystifying educational and developmental issues one parent or therapist at a time was very satisfying. I'm now doing this on a platform that could potentially reach millions of parents, teachers and therapists. This for me is exhilarating.
I speak from the theoretical knowledge of a psychologist and educator, but I also rely on my experience as a mother. My kids often provide my most valuable learning experiences.