CM Club: I need some help with behaviour management please

[Numberfour]

I have a 4.6 yr old boy who started with me when he started reception in Sept this year. He had previously been in full time nursery care.

The first day I had him it was clear that he did not follow instructions. To cut a long story short, mum and dad are aware and doing what they can, school is aware and is keeping mum and dad informed as well as me as the go between.

My concern is that the boy seems to have not regard for not following instructions at all. Mum and Dad openly admitted from day one with me that they had always been very lenient with him, giving the child a lot of leeway with decision making etc.

Fast forward 7 weeks or so and we are no better off. It is almost as if the child does not care.

He does not seem to care that there are consequences to not listening (eg will not be allowed to watch his favourite tv show or that he would upset me by not listening to me.)

The culminated in me putting him in reins on the school run today because he insisted on running off. Even so with the reins that go over the chest, he kept on turning around as if to walk backwards. So I held fast onto the back of the reins so that i could move him forward in a straight line towards our destination.

He is lovely and friendly and delightful and happy and loving and affectionate. Not a "bad" bone in his body.

But he will NOT do as asked. He is not being mischievous or impish when not listening. He just does not do as he is told - and there does not appear to be a hearing problem

HELP. I was nearly in tears on the school run today.

Feel for you I know how hard this can be especially when they totally disregard you when your out and about it can be quite at times and can often have a knock on effect to the other mindees.

You say that he doesn't seem to care if he gets into trouble or looses privelidges, I find that even the most not bothered kids have something somewhere that they love and would be pretty niffed about if they didnt have it for a while, could be a question of finding what that thing is, does he have a behaviour prob as the school seem to be having the same situation. I have one that was a bit again very loving and kind child, but just didn't respond to instructions, I found that by giving him some responsibility, and a badge that said helper putting him in charge of a little thing it worked a treat, you can always find something really important for a child to do, it makes them feel special, needed and helps them learn responsibility.

Or you could just be that he's at school for most of the day