What do you do when you notice your child exhibits less-than-positive behavior? Say, you catch your nine-year-old daughter answering back to adults. Do you reprimand her immediately, or do you let the incident pass? What happens when you notice that your partner isn't really doing anything to address the problem in the first place?

These questions are probably some of the first that occur once you realize that your child is starting to develop a mind of her own. Your daughter is no longer the toddler who looked to you before doing anything outside her own crib; she is now capable of forming her own thoughts and opinions. Although she must have been able to do so long before, it is only in this moment when her independence becomes evident in your eyes.

How do you deal with your first real behavioral issue? These four tips will help you with just that.


(First published as "Changing Behaviors," an entry in the column "Keep It Real" in the "Good Family" section of Good Housekeeping Philippines' August 2011 issue. Adapted for use in Female Network. Additional reporting by Jennifer Chan. Screencap from Wizards of Waverly Place courtesy of Disney Channel.)