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Behaviour Therapy
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At home
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At home
How do I handle defiance and saying no in a 3-year-old?
Defiance and saying "no" at three is a normal sign of growing autonomy, not a behaviour problem. Calm, consistent structure — limited choices, predictable routines, naming feelings, connection before correction, and praising cooperation — works best. Seek a developmental check only if refusals come with very little speech, lost skills, or daily life feels unmanageable.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle defiance and saying no in a 4-year-old?
Defiance and saying "no" are developmentally normal at four — a sign of growing independence, not a disorder. Offer small real choices, connect before correcting, keep a few firm limits and praise cooperation. Consider a gentle developmental check only if defiance is extreme, constant across every setting, or paired with speech, play or attention delays.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle defiance and saying no in a 5-year-old?
Defiance and saying "no" at five is a normal sign of growing independence. Handle it by connecting first, offering small real choices, using calm "when…then…" limits, and praising cooperation. Consider a gentle developmental check only if refusal is constant across all settings, with frequent severe meltdowns or trouble understanding instructions.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle difficulty sharing in a 2-year-old?
Difficulty sharing at two is normal, healthy development — toddlers are only just learning that others have wants too. Teach turn-taking through play, model sharing, name feelings and praise attempts; genuine sharing usually emerges between three and four. Book a developmental check only if your child also seems uninterested in connecting with others.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle difficulty sharing in a 3-year-old?
Difficulty sharing is normal and developmentally expected at three, when a child's sense of self is strong but the ability to understand others' feelings is still forming. Coach turn-taking, name feelings, praise generosity and model sharing rather than forcing or punishing it. Check in with a professional only if sharing struggles come with little interest in other children, limited pretend play or very limited language.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle difficulty sharing in a 4-year-old?
Difficulty sharing at four is developmentally typical — turn-taking, fairness and seeing another's view are still forming. Coach it warmly at home with turn-taking language, timers, specific praise and play. Look closer only if sharing struggles come with very limited play, awareness of others' feelings, or intense meltdowns across settings.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle extreme shyness in a 1-year-old?
Extreme shyness in a 1-year-old is usually healthy stranger wariness or a slow-to-warm-up temperament — a sign of secure attachment, not a problem. Be the safe base, never force interaction, and let warming-up take time. Seek a gentle developmental check only if withdrawal is total across all settings or paired with no response to name, no eye contact, or no babble and gestures by 12 months.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle extreme shyness in a 2-year-old?
Extreme shyness at two is usually a normal temperament stage, not a disorder. Be a calm, steady safe base, avoid forcing greetings or labelling your child, and build confidence in small predictable steps. A gentle developmental check helps only if shyness comes with limited words, eye contact or name response, or extreme distress across every setting.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle extreme shyness in a 3-year-old?
Extreme shyness at three is usually temperament, not disorder. Help by honouring warm-up time, never labelling, preparing rather than pushing, and building tiny social wins. Seek a friendly check if your child is silent in some settings for a month, severely distressed, or shy alongside speech or play delays.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle extreme shyness in a 4-year-old?
Extreme shyness at four is usually a sensitive temperament, not a disorder. Warm up slowly, avoid the 'shy' label, rehearse small social scripts and praise brave tries. Seek a developmental check only if your child is silent outside home for weeks, deeply distressed, or shows differences in play and communication.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle extreme shyness in a 5-year-old?
Extreme shyness in a 5-year-old is usually temperament and eases with warm, patient, low-pressure support — never forced socialising. Build confidence in small steps through play and one-to-one playdates. Seek a developmental check if your child is silent at school but talks at home, shows intense distress before social situations, or if shyness is steadily narrowing their world.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle extreme shyness in a 6-year-old?
Extreme shyness at six is usually temperament, not disorder — support it with gentle preparation, no labelling, rehearsed social skills and praise for tiny brave steps. Seek a developmental check if your child cannot speak at school, refuses everyday activities, or shows real distress, as this may signal social anxiety or selective mutism, both highly treatable early.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle head-banging in a 1-year-old?
Head-banging in a 1-year-old is usually normal self-soothing that fades by age 3–4. Keep the cot area safe, stay calm, soothe the underlying need (sleep, teething, big feelings), and avoid making it dramatic. Seek prompt medical review if it follows a head injury, comes with developmental delay or skill loss, or causes real injury.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle head-banging in a 2-year-old?
Toddler head-banging is usually a common, harmless way to self-soothe or release frustration and typically fades by age three or four. Keep your child safe, respond calmly without making a fuss, meet the underlying need, and book a developmental check if banging causes injury, persists past three, or comes with limited words, eye contact or loss of skills.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle head-banging in a 3-year-old?
Head-banging at three is usually self-soothing, frustration or attention-seeking and most children outgrow it. Keep your child safe, stay calm, avoid big reactions that reward it, teach feeling-words and soothing rhythm, and protect the bedtime routine. Seek a clinician's advice if it injures, happens many times a day across settings, or comes with developmental concerns.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle head-banging in a young baby?
In young babies, head-banging is usually a normal self-soothing or rhythmic habit that fades by 3–4 years. Keep the sleep space soft and safe, respond calmly, ease triggers like teething or tiredness, and book a developmental check if it comes with delays, regression, injury, or staring and stiffening.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle hitting others in a 1-year-old?
Hitting at 12–24 months is normal toddler communication, not aggression — a child with big feelings and few words. Stay calm, keep everyone safe, name the feeling, redirect, and consistently teach 'gentle hands'. Seek a developmental check only if hitting comes with delayed words, little eye contact, or meltdowns that are very hard to settle.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle hitting others in a 2-year-old?
Hitting at two is common and developmentally normal — your toddler has big feelings but few words to manage them. Stay calm, stop the hit gently, name the feeling, and teach an alternative. It usually settles as language grows; very frequent, intense hitting with few words is worth a friendly developmental check.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle hitting others in a 3-year-old?
Hitting at three is common and usually signals big feelings without enough words. Stop the hit calmly, name the feeling, and teach the better action — consistently. Most hitting fades as language and self-control grow; look closer if it's daily, intense, or paired with very limited speech.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle hitting others in a 4-year-old?
Hitting at four is usually big feelings outrunning words. Stay calm, keep everyone safe, name the feeling, and teach better ways to ask. Most children hit less over weeks with consistent home handling — seek a check if it's frequent, intense or paired with limited speech.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle intense or unusual fears in a 2-year-old?
Intense or unusual fears are a normal part of a two-year-old's growing imagination. Respond with calm comfort, name the feeling, never force or mock, and use small gradual steps with steady routines. Most fears fade over weeks to months; seek a developmental check if a fear persists for months, disrupts eating, sleep or play, or comes with very few words.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle intense or unusual fears in a 3-year-old?
Intense or unusual fears are normal at three, when imagination outpaces the ability to tell real from pretend. Stay calm, name the feeling, never force or mock the scary thing, and rebuild confidence in tiny brave steps. Seek a developmental chat only if a fear stops everyday life, lasts many months, or comes with concerns about skills, play or communication.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle intense or unusual fears in a 4-year-old?
Intense fears are normal at four, when imagination outpaces logic. Stay calm and acknowledge the feeling, never mock or force, and use tiny brave steps (graded exposure) at your child's pace. Seek a developmental check if a fear lasts months, blocks eating, sleep, preschool or play, or comes with skill loss or rigid, unusual sensory patterns.
Read the answer AnswerHow do I handle intense or unusual fears in a 5-year-old?
Intense or unusual fears are common and developmentally normal at age five. Stay calm, acknowledge the feeling, and coach your child through it in small brave steps rather than forcing or over-accommodating. Most fears fade within weeks; seek a developmental check if a fear disrupts sleep, eating or school, lasts months, or comes with wider distress.
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