12/03/2025
Parent challenge! Ask your child what “being good” means. More often than not, they will say, “it means I have to be good” or sometimes they will say, “I have to behave”. Then I ask, what do you do when you “behave”? And they say “I’m being good” (back to square one) or I get blank stares… and I realize they don’t know!
So here’s a friendly reminder that perhaps changing behavior starts with making sure we are defining our expectations!
This Christmas, focus on defining the “nice” behaviors- this doesn’t mean only letting them know what they should not do (example: you are NOT listening) but also what they SHOULD DO (example: you are following directions!).
Bonus tip! Try giving some specific praise for those good behaviors. Examples: Good job listening the first time! Nice work cleaning up. Awesome getting started on your homework.
