Managing Delinquent Behavior with the Demerit Method Following the aforementioned principle of reward before punishment, begin to use the punishment method to change your child’s delinquent behavior. (1) Objective: 1) Use the family token program to reduce oppositional disobedience and other undesirable behaviors of the child; 2) Form family rules that the child must do as instructed by the parents. (2) Method: After 1 – 2 weeks of using the card or point program, intermittent, selective point deductions can begin. The child can be told that any time he refuses to complete an assigned task, he will be fined cards or points. After this point, if the child does not follow the instruction, tell him “I will count 1 to 5, and if you do not act, you will lose a card (or point)” and then count cards 2-3-4-5 at a slower rate, and if the child still does not begin to act, immediately deduct from his stock of cards or from his record book the number of points he will receive for completing the task. If there is no such work item on the list, choose a score similar to the behavior to be deducted. (3) Notes 1) Do not correct many bad behaviors at the same time, but only one or two behaviors over a period of time, otherwise there are too many rules for the child to remember. 2) Do not use the deduction method too much and too often, otherwise it will quickly deplete the child’s savings and the program will not be able to continue. Generally speaking, a 3:1 strategy is more appropriate, i.e., reward the child 3 times and punish him/her 1 time. (3) If parents use the demerit point method too often, the program will lose momentum and appeal, and the child will be reluctant to participate in the card or point program, at which point the program can be suspended for about a month before restarting. Be careful not to penalize too much or too often after restarting.