Friends of Foster care

Responding to Challenging Behaviours

This presentation has been adapted from “Shared Stories, Shared Lives: A course for foster parents and potential foster

parents.“(Dept. Human Services 2006)

Understanding Challenging Behaviour

Stressful situation

or incident

Child or young

person’s feelings

Child or young

person’s behaviour

Behaviours that can be difficult to deal with:

• Withdraw or cry easily• Be easily exhausted or vey

excited• Try to control people• Cling to everyone and anyone• Be destructive or aggressive• Be self-destructive• Be a loner• Feel powerless or worthless• Resent all rules be generally

argumentative• Be scared of authority

• Be unwilling to share• Insist that everything be perfect• Be very afraid• Distort reality• Take a hoard food even when

there’s plenty available• Find it difficult to show affection• Have problems relating to

children their own age

Adapted from Barnados’ Foster carers training kit.

Managing Challenging Behaviour

Stop

Think

Respond

When managing behaviour DON’TUse physical punishment. This teaches the child or young person to control through force and to deal with his or her anger by resorting to hitting othersMake derogatory remarks about the child or young person, his or her parents, relatives and cultural heritage or religionMake threats about the security or length of placementWithhold food or mealsDeny visits to parents, siblings and relativesBe verbally abusiveUse public humiliationParticipate in activities designed to humiliate a child or young person, to place the child or young person in an unsafe environment, or produce terror or fear.Lock the child or young person in their roomUse force or threats to elicit ‘good’ behaviour.

Ways to help children and young people to change their behaviour

Listen to the child or young person Be consistent Praise Use “time in’s” Have realistic, age-appropriate goals

and expectations Help older children and young people

to articulate what they want and how it might be achieved.

What other strategies can you think of? Add them to the discussion forum.

When a carer feels pushed too far...

• What sorts of behaviours from children or young people pushes your buttons?

• Why does this behaviour annoy or upset you?• How will you respond to behaviour that really

challenges you?• What can assist you in making an appropriate

response?Respond to these questions in the discussion forum.