Home > Online Counselling > Clinical Behavior Disorder
Worried About Your Child’s Behavior? You're Not Alone.
- Take the Free Kids Personality Test
- Browse Common Behavior Challenges Below
Common Behavioral Issues in Kids Under 13
These are not necessarily clinical disorders—but if ignored, they can become chronic. Explore causes, real-world examples, and LiveMIS-backed strategies for each.
Emotional Outbursts & Regulation Problems
Tantrums and meltdowns
Why toddlers have emotional outbursts, what triggers them, and how parents can respond calmly and effectively.
Child Worrying Too Much
Explore how anxiety may trigger mood shifts in children and how to support them with empathy, routines, and reassurance.
Easily frustrated or overwhelmed
Impulsive kids get frustrated easily. Learn how to build emotional control, reduce overwhelm, and teach calming skills
When it happens:
Your child cries at homework, throws a fit when it’s time to leave the park, or panics when a plan changes.
Why it matters:
Emotional regulation isn’t instinctive—it’s learned. Some kids need more guidance than others.
Tip: These kids may have high sensitivity or trouble labeling feelings. Teaching emotional vocabulary helps.
Defiant, Aggressive, or Oppositional Behavior
Yelling, refusing instructions, constant “No!”
Why kids say “no”, resist authority, & how to reduce defiance using empathy, structure, and consistent boundaries.
Hitting, biting, or pushing others
Kids use aggression to express frustration or gain control, teach safe, respectful ways to handle strong emotions.
Disrespect toward parents, teachers, or peers
Kids talk back or act disrespectfully, and how to respond with firm yet respectful boundaries that rebuild mutual trust.
Child Bullying Others
Explains why some children bully—often due to insecurity or unmet emotional needs—and how to guide them to healthier social skills.
Toddler Constantly Throwing Things
Throwing objects is often a toddler’s way to express emotions or test limits, how to respond calmly and teach boundaries.
Toddler Doesn't Like to Share
Toddlers struggle to share due to underdeveloped empathy and a strong sense of ownership.
Child Always Getting Into Fights at School
Frequent fights may signal emotional overload, frustration, or poor impulse control, helps parents guide kids toward conflict resolution and calmer responses.
Toddler Constantly Throwing Things
Throwing objects is often a toddler’s way to express emotions or test limits, how to respond calmly and teach boundaries.
Toddler Doesn't Like to Share
Toddlers struggle to share due to underdeveloped empathy and a strong sense of ownership.
When it happens:
Simple tasks spark battles. You ask for 5 minutes of cleanup—they scream for 30. They hit their sibling over toy disputes.
Why it matters:
Defiance is often a power struggle in disguise. Your child may be overwhelmed, insecure, or mirroring someone’s behavior.
Parenting style matters. Some kids respond better to structured empathy than discipline alone.
Communication Challenges & Manipulative Speech
Excessive or compulsive talking
Kids talk nonstop, when it signals deeper needs, and how to set healthy limits without shutting them down.
Selective silence (especially in social settings)
Some kids avoid talking or engaging socially, how to gently support confidence, communication, and emotional safety.
When it happens:
Your child dominates every conversation—or clams up completely when guests arrive.
Why it matters:
Speech habits often reveal internal struggles—like anxiety, poor impulse control, or fear of judgment.
Understanding your child’s communication style through our Kids Personality Test can offer clarity.
Academic & Focus-Related Behaviors
Low attention span, “zoning out”
Covers poor focus in kids and offers strategies to improve attention, reduce distractions, task engagement gradually.
Trouble completing homework
Kids avoid homework, from overwhelm to defiance, and shares practical tips to build consistency, focus, and cooperation at home.
Poor grades despite effort
When effort doesn't match results, this guide helps uncover hidden learning barriers and boost confidence and academic success.
Child Always Low on Energy or Motivation
Low energy in kids may stem from emotional, cognitive, or lifestyle factors. Explores causes and offers tips to re-engage and energize them.
When it happens:
They spend hours “doing” homework but complete nothing. Or they rush through and miss everything.
Why it matters:
This might not be ADHD—but it could point to unmet cognitive or emotional needs.
Many bright children lack structure, not ability. Use behavior tracking to spot patterns.
Daily Routine Resistance: Sleep, Eating & Hygiene
Bedtime battles or nightmares
Common sleep struggles, including resistance and anxiety-driven wakeups, calm, consistent bedtime routines.
Irregular eating or extreme pickiness
Toddler Always Falling or Dropping Things
Frequent falls may be due to developmental delays, sensory issues, or poor motor coordination.
When it happens:
Your child won’t go to bed until midnight—or insists on only eating one food for weeks.
Why it matters:
Routine rejection often masks anxiety or a sensory sensitivity issue.
Start with a structured visual schedule and positive reinforcement.
Addictive Patterns & Emotional Dependency
Excessive screen time / device attachment
Needing constant approval
Difficulty playing independently
Toddlers Clinging to Parents
Clinginess is often rooted in separation anxiety or emotional insecurity, help parents gently encourage independence.
Needing constant approval
Difficulty playing independently
When it happens:
They meltdown when you take away the iPad, or follow you from room to room—even during bathroom breaks.
Why it matters:
These behaviors may seem harmless now, but they signal deeper emotional dependence and poor coping skills.
Building independence doesn’t mean pushing them away. It means creating safe distance.
Is This Just Behavior—Or Something Deeper?
When should I worry this is more than a phase?”
It’s the most asked question we get.
If your child’s behavior is:
Chronic or intensifying
Interfering with school, friendships, or family life
Out of step with their age group
…it might be time to explore our Clinical Behavioral Disorders Guide
Your Free Tools & Tests on LiveMIS
LiveMIS offers free assessments to help you decode behavior and understand parenting compatibility:
Kids Personality Test – Discover what drives your child’s emotions and reactions.
Parenting Style Quiz – Learn how your approach is shaping their behavior.
Spouse Personality Test – Align parenting strategies with your partner.These tools don’t diagnose—they inform and empower. Start here, before jumping to counseling.
Need Help Navigating Your Child’s Behavior?
Every child is different. But no parent should feel lost.
Start by exploring the behavior that concerns you most. Read, reflect, and then take a small step—whether it’s changing bedtime routines, using visual cues, or just listening more closely.
You don’t need to be perfect. You just need a plan.