Challenging behavior occurs when the demands and expectations being placed upon a child outstrip the skills he has to respond adaptively.
– Dr. Ross W. Greene

In Exchange Press surveys over the years the number one topic readers ask for help with is dealing with children’s challenging behaviors. Over the years, Exchange writers have begun to use the phrase, “behaviors that challenge us.” This acknowledges that sometimes adults put children into difficult situations they don’t have the skills to manage, then blame them for the resulting behavior.

Six years ago, popular author and speaker, Rae Pica, created a blog post called 7 Reasons for Challenging Behaviors. These reasons remain true today and perhaps even more so. Here’s a sampling:

Children get little to no downtime, which is detrimental to their mental health. How are they supposed to enjoy their lives when every moment is scheduled for them? Downtime is essential for everybody’s mental health.

We stifle children’s natural creativity and inherent love of learning through worksheets, standardized tests and curricula, and an insistence on conformity and rote — as opposed to active, authentic learning.

To provide support for dealing with behaviors that challenge us, we are dramatically reducing the price of the 50-video Turn Key training series, “Addressing Challenging Behaviors.” As the stated goal of the training series encourages, let’s “fix” the factors leading to challenging behaviors instead of trying to “fix” the child.