There are a variety of ways to deal with children. Some are effective in changing behaviors but may be damaging to the child psyche. Others will only create more bad behaviors as well as damaging the child's psyche. Then, there are the tried and true methods which are not damaging to the child and will most certainly change not only the child's behavior, but the way they perceive the adults around them and how they perceive themselves.

One reason that children act up is that they don't always see the difference between being a child and being an adult. Saying "because I'm the adult, that's why" actually does more damage than good and is not conducive to positive boundaries.

To establish the boundaries, use some of the simple tips below.

1. Avoid engaging in adult conversation with a child. Some topics are off limits including your sex life, financial problems and emotional traumas.
2. Encourage the child to act like a child by presenting them with childlike activities. An example would be for them to watch PG movies rather than PG13 or R movies.
3. Act like an adult. When you yell, scream, hit and throw things, you are essentially having a tantrum. Avoid these behaviors and keep your composure while dealing with the child.

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Whether you are a parent or simply someone who is having visitors with children over, make sure your rules are clear to everyone. By making the rules clear to parents and children alike, there should be no question of limits or of understanding the rules. This also develops respect for you from the parents and the children. Make sure that the children feel welcome, but know what the limits are.

For every rule there should be a consequence. Following through is the key here. If there are no consequences then there really are no rules to speak of. We all push the bar as far as we can and children are the quickest to understand that there are no real consequences. Use some of the suggested consequences below to tone down the negative behavior and encourage the positive.

1. Focus on the positive behaviors. Everyone likes praise and when the good things are being focused on it doesn't leave much time for the negative.
2. Use time outs as a method to help children calm down and remove themselves from too much stimulation.
3. Remove privileges until a set goal has been met.
4. Narrow the focus of the child, which means making one simple request at a time. For instance, instead of asking them to clean their room, ask them to pick up all the CDs first, then the clothes and so on.
5. Teach them how to set and achieve goals to improve their behavior. You can do this by setting simple goals and tracking their progress. For instance, if the child is rude, make a goal for them to say 3 nice things to someone that day.

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The information contained in this article is not a substitute for professional child rearing advice. Consult a professional Child Care Provider or Child Development Specialist for professional advice.