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Sighs are common. Punishments are familiar. You have dedicated yourself to seeking out all bad behaviors and correcting them, watching your child as he goes about the day to ensure that rules are maintained. You are not cruel; you are not zealous. Instead you merely understand the urgency. Your child is often rambunctious, finding trouble with alarming ease. It’s better to simply predict his movements, anticipate the possible problems. You’ve become a master at removing temptation before it can even be discovered.
You are not as adept, however, with offering rewards.
It’s become a routine of explanations and effects, trying to keep a toddler from harm. There is less time devoted to compliments, though. You think rules are more important, seek always to enforce them. This is to be commended (that could never be denied) but it’s also to be compensated. You can’t provide only discipline to your child. The result won’t satisfy. You must instead give positive reinforcement and discover the power of simple praise.
Children are not creatures of logic. They are instead mimics, learning their behaviors through what they see and hear. When you offer kind words and kinder smiles, they can make a quick connection of which behaviors are preferred. They crave your attention and, when it’s given freely, they are then pleased.
Positive reinforcement is a form of teaching that’s too often overlooked. It’s far easier to offer reprimands, chides. But children wish to make you happy and, when you show that they are, they will strive then to repeat the appropriate gestures. They’ll do their best to earn your affection.
This doesn’t mean, of course, that you are to simply ignore all bad behaviors, providing only encouragement. It instead is to be a balance of the good and the necessary. You must correct problems while also rewarding wisdom. The combination will be one of great value and greater results.
Be decisive when you must. Be positive when you can.
