Effective Fundamentals pt. 2
Now you know how to use effective praise to your child. Let’s then take note on the effective instructions as well, and fantastic incentives we could give our children.
When giving instructions, you should build direct eye contact, and you should be very specific. For instance, say, “Put your toys inside the box after you play.” Also, give young children only one instruction at a time. After following your instruction, you can add “Place the box inside your room.” Set time limits with each instruction too. You can say, “Put your toys inside the box before we have our supper.” In addition, you have to state the consequence of not following your instructions and follow through with the consequences if necessary.
There are a lot of creative ideas in giving terrific incentives to your children. You can have a family pillow fight, where the child can fully enjoy simple fun times like this. Or you can write a note to your child and put it in her school bag or lunch box, or stick it in her closet. Have a movie night at home, where you create fancy movie tickets and prepare special snacks. Your child can give play money to buy the tickets and food. How about going for a pajama drive? After your child has put on his/her pair of comfortable pjs, fasten your seat belts and go for a drive. Go by a drive-though for light snacks or ice cream, and drive around town. You can also use jelly beans or chocolate candies, raisins or other tiny treats as rewards for good behavior. Letting your child choose a game to play together is another fantastic incentive as well, as you are giving her the autonomy with your presence, in enjoyable situations like this. Speaking of autonomy, you can give a little freedom at bedtime to your child by letting him/her stay up 30 minutes later as an incentive for good job done, and to be able to spend more fun time with the child! (: