Most children need to be given consistent, clear rules and expectations about behavior. Discipline needs to begin as soon as the child is mobile—pulling up and crawling.

Time-out is a type of discipline used to stop a child from performing a bad behavior by "isolating" the child for a period of time. Time-outs are useful for aggressive and harmful behaviors in toddlers and preschoolers.

These fits of rage—the stomping, screaming, and falling on the floor—are a normal part of childhood development. Temper tantrums often occur only with a parent. They are a way for the child to communicate his or her feelings.

Lying and stealing are common, but inappropriate, behaviors in school-aged children. Although some severe forms of these behaviors can indicate a more serious psychological problem, most of the time children will outgrow these behaviors.

Adolescent attention often shifts to a more intense focus on social interactions and friendships expanding from same sex friends to same sex groups of friends to heterosexual groups of friends.

Kids must cope with all the issues, such as violence or global warming, that stress out adults. But they must also handle stresses added by their parents and the media.

Bullying comes in different forms. It is commonly thought of as an actual or threatened act of physical violence. But name calling, spreading rumors, unrelenting teasing, and deliberately excluding a child from an activity can be other forms of bullying. Racial slurs, mocking cultural traditions, and unwanted physical contact are bullying.