What Is My Child Really Trying to Tell Me? Understanding the Needs Behind Behavior

Here’s the thing, behaviors in kids emerge from an interaction of emotions, developmental abilities, temperament, relationships, environments, and learned experiences. Sometimes a behavior communicates distress or an unmet need, and other times, it reflects curiosity, excitement, impulsivity, habit, or a skill that's still developing. And sometimes, of course, children genuinely don't know why they did something.