Something I think a lot of us get caught up in is telling our kids what not to do. “Don’t jump off the couch” or “don’t play with your food”. There are so many things we don’t want our kids to do because it’s either unsafe, unsanitary, or might just plain bug us. The problem with using the “don’t” word is that it doesn’t teach our kids what they should be doing. Therefore it’s less of a learning opportunity and more of a punishment. Instead of telling the child what not to do, try telling them what you want them to do instead. This can get tricky and you have to be creative sometimes. For example, you’re in a store and they’re touching everything. It’s so much easier to just say “stop touching everything!” However, instead you could say “hands down” “hands on the cart”, etc. here are some other examples:
It may take more than one time for the child to learn, but they will, especially when you are modeling the behavior as well. And remember, praise and reward when they do it right!
Comments