Tool 10 · Checklist · Free
Check What's Behind the Behavior
A behavior keeps happening and you are about to assume your child is doing it deliberately.
Try this
Consider skills, the environment, exploration, and needs before choosing your response.
How to use it
Use the SEED check to consider skills, the environment, exploration, and needs. It cannot diagnose a child or tell you the cause from one incident.
- Skills: have they learned and practiced what the task requires?
- Environment: are expectations, adult examples, and practical conditions clear?
- Exploration: were they experimenting without understanding the effect?
- Needs: could they need rest, help, attention, or a different way to participate?
- Check your idea with them and choose support or a boundary based on what you learn.
What it can sound like
These are illustrative examples. Adjust the words to your family and your child's needs.
“You were trying to pour it yourself. Let's use a smaller jug and wipe this up.”
“Is the assignment unclear, or is there another reason starting is difficult?”
Watch out for
An explanation does not remove a necessary safety limit. Avoid treating slower progress as a deficit.
If it doesn't fit this moment
Keep the cause open. Observe the pattern and ask school or another appropriate support person for specific information.
Free template
A SEED context check
Use the prompts for your own preparation. Entries stay in this tab and are not saved or sent to BondSeed. Download your text before leaving the page.
Go a little deeper
Reference reading
These public references support relevant communication principles. They do not validate this tool as an assessment or a tested script.