Did you know that over 3.6 million children are born in the U.S. each year? If you’re a parent or hoping to become one, you may be wondering how to help your child learn and grow most effectively. After all, when you see your child doing something well, you want them to know it.
Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to learn how to positively reinforce a child’s good behavior!
Offer Positive Recognition
One of the easiest ways to offer positive reinforcement is by praising the action. In other words, if your child cleans up her toys without being asked, share your excitement with them. You don’t want to ignore opportunities to offer praise.
And be sure to tell your child why you are praising them. That way, they’ll be more likely to keep doing this positive action and help with other cleaning tasks in the future. When your child completes a puzzle, creates a painting, or finishes a task, take the time to let them know you are proud.
Show Encouragement During the Process
To go a step further, share encouraging words when a child is in the midst of a task. Especially if the task is a big one, it’s good to celebrate benchmarks along the way.
For instance, a child who ties one shoe successfully needs praise, even if they struggle with the second shoe. Positive reinforcement in children can help them gain confidence so they can move forward and improve.
Choose the Right Rewards
Rewarding positive child behavior can be another way to affirm your child. Consider offering a special reward to a child who completes his homework or does well on a spelling test. Or reward them for being friendly toward others in their preschool classroom.
Just make sure that the reward is tailored to your child’s interests. Plan a movie date with them or take them out for ice cream. Let them know how proud of them you are so they see that you recognize their achievement.
Share the Good News with Other Adults
It never hurts to celebrate good child behavior with other adults, especially when your child is around. This could take the form of writing a note to a teacher expressing your happiness over improved performance in class. Or it could mean talking informally with friends at a picnic about your child’s willingness to help with outdoor chores.
Your child will feel satisfaction in knowing that their efforts are worthy of being broadcast to more people. And they just might be more likely to want to continue putting in a strong effort.
Learn How to Reinforce Good Behavior
Rewarding good behavior can be as easy as offering praise during the process of completing a task or once it’s complete. Choose good rewards, too, to incentivize more positive actions in the future. And take advantage of opportunities to share the good news of strong behavior with other adults.