It’s no secret that being a parent is one of the most difficult roles in the world, and if there’s one challenging aspect of parenting, it’s managing your child’s behavior. Behavior management is crucial because we want to raise kids who know how to act and behave appropriately, both at home and in social settings. So how do you manage your child’s behavior? Do you find yourself constantly yelling at your child to call out their misbehavior? Are you often losing your temper and feel like you’re already overwhelmed? If you want to see a change in your child’s behavior, you may want to reconsider your approach. This is where positive reinforcement comes in. 

Positive reinforcement is a parenting technique used to encourage obedience and inculcate desired behavior without the use of punishment, threat, abuse, shame, or humiliation. If you haven’t given positive reinforcement a try, here are some of the reasons why it’s time you should. 

Positive reinforcement provides long term benefits

While it’s important that children receive the right amount of discipline that doesn’t mean that discipline should involve punitive measures. If you want to encourage a better response from your little one, use positive reinforcement when asking them to perform certain tasks. Positive reinforcement can provide more long-term benefits because it positively impacts a child’s long term behavior. On the other hand, trying to change a child’s behavior by instilling anxiety or fear may result in negative feelings that they may carry as they grow up.

Positive reinforcement develops a child’s character

Young children who are encouraged to behave appropriately by means of positive reinforcement tend to show more positive results in terms of character development than children who are motivated out of fear of punishment. In fact, imposing discipline by using a positive approach even compels children to exceed expectations. Children who are motivated by fear of punishment on the other hand, only comply with minimum effort; they only do the bare minimum so that they can avoid being punished.

Under a system of positive reinforcement, children understand that their good behavior results in positive consequences such as rewards or even mere recognition. This teaches them the value of personal responsibility and self-discipline.

Positive reinforcement makes a child feel loved

Not all children understand the concept of discipline, and they don’t grasp why their parents try to make them behave in certain ways. This is the reason why, when children get punished or reprimanded, they mistake it as a sign that they are not loved, and that their parents simply just want to hurt them for misbehaving. That’s the last thing we as parents want to make our children feel.

Responding to your child’s behavior using a positive approach will make them feel that they are loved and cared for. 

Positive reinforcement helps develop a child’s self-esteem

Children who are confident and have healthy self-esteem are the ones who are more likely to find success later in life. By using positive reinforcement, we are making our children feel good about themselves; especially when they have done something right. Instead of feeling terrible and focusing on the things they did wrong, they will realize that they are inherently good and that they can even do better.  

Positive reinforcement also teaches children to feel good about their accomplishments and successes – no matter how small they are. Punishment on the other hand, instills in young children a feeling of shame and sense of inferiority, which aren’t helpful in contributing to their happy and healthy growth and development.

Positive reinforcement makes you feel good as a parent

Using punishment or harsh words when disciplining a child can make a parent feel guilty, but you won’t have to feel any guilt when you opt to use a positive approach when instilling discipline. You will see a change in your child’s behavior and attitude without making them feel bad or feeling bad yourself for using force or painful words.

It’s not always easy to find an approach or technique that will be both rewarding for children and parents alike. If you haven’t tried positive reinforcement yet, it’s about time that you do to see how it works wonders for you.

For more helpful parenting tips, or if you’re looking for a good quality preschool, please visit Young Scholars Academy. 

Does studying come naturally to your child or does he or she need a little encouragement when it comes to academics? Studying may come easy to kids who love school, but not every child can is into it. Sitting around reading books and reviewing notes quietly for an extended period of time can get boring. If given the choice between studying and spending time on the internet, most children would be inclined to pick the latter any day. This is where it can be helpful to find creative ways and interesting activities to make study-time more appealing. Just like the saying “Out with the old, in with the new”, when it comes to matters of studying, breaking out of the old routine may give you the answers you need. Help your child look forward to studying by making it a fun activity that he or she will enjoy. One powerful trick parents and teachers use to encourage their children to study more is by mixing things up. Here are a few ways to get you started.

Get out of the routine

It can be difficult to combat a child’s fleeting attention span. One way to help sustain attention is to let your child get up and take a break every 15 to 20 minutes, depending on his or her attention span during tasks. Aside from letting them take care of their usual business of going to the toilet or drinking water, make study time more fun for kids by planning activities that they can engage in during those quick breaks. Singing action songs or dancing to get them out of their seats can help your kids relax and refocus for the next session.

Incorporate games during study time

Incorporating games during study time can take any form. Alternatively, this can also work the other way around by incorporating learning during play time. Encourage learning by letting your child play some digital-based interactive learning games on a phone or tablet in their free time. You may also consider bringing your kids outside. If they are playing with other kids, have them take turns by answering questions relevant to the topic they are studying. Trivia games can also be a fun way to test your child’s knowledge. Just be prepared with a reward if they do well! Reward systems can be quite effective when encouraging kids to study.

Illustrate important points with visuals

Visual aids can vastly improve a child’s learning experience because most children are wired to process information visually. They are more inclined to read when text is accompanied by a photo or picture, as it helps to give them context. Colors will also help to capture your child’s attention. There’s a reason why children’s toys are always colorful, as children tend to pay more attention to bold and bright colors.The more colorful visual aids you use, the more engaged in the lesson a child will be.

Another visual learning tool you can use is drawing. Drawing doesn’t have to be treated as a pastime. It can be helpful to illustrate some important points when studying, especially when it comes to concepts that are difficult for children to grasp. Take visual learning a step further and make studying fun for kids by asking them to draw what they understood from the lesson. You can test their comprehension this way, while keeping them busy with this fun activity.

Incorporate role-play into reading

Sitting silently while reading non-illustrated text can be boring for some kids. Most children who are not used to reading long texts may have difficulty staying on track as their attention can drift.Encourage your child to enjoy reading more by asking them to read the text out loud. Ask your child to them play around with his or her delivery, intonation and voice inflection. Have children pay attention to the rise and fall of their speech while reading instead of reading in monotone. Not only does this help keep your child focused on reading the text, but it also enhances their long-term speaking skills.

Have your child take practice tests

Tests and exams can cause a lot of stress and anxiety for kids. This can be because they haven’t studied and are cramming for the big day, or because they feel pressure to get a high score. Help your child avoid staying up all night cramming for the exam day by taking each lesson bit by bit. Help your child out by making study aids or practice tests to measure their understanding of the subject area. This can be an effective method to ease your child’s anxiety. It also provides a great opportunity to point out areas where your child needs improvement as he or she prepares for the real exam.

Studying may take a bit of getting used to and can be a challenge to incorporate into a child’s life. Being a supportive parent and involving your kids in fun activities during study time can be significantly helpful to inspire good study habits. Help your child gain a better taste for learning by using these 5 simple strategies.

Preparing for your child’s early education in the Colorado Springs area? Young Scholars Academy’s preschool programs create an engaging learning environment with fun activities and unique scenarios that create lasting memories for young kids. Our family takes care of your family with the best child care! Please feel free to call 719-522-9099 to schedule your tour of the classrooms or visit https://youngscholarsacademycolorado.com for more details.

So, in the past I was totally that mom who went all out, whether it was Christmas parties, decorations, even presents. I wanted to give my kids everything they asked for. Now when it came down to it not a very realistic plan on my part. Would always spend way too much on things that would be played with or worn for about five minutes. When it comes to presents you have to ask yourself, do they really need it? Are they going to use it? Are they going to clean it up or will that be the billionth Lego you’ve stepped on in?

This is where the mindset comes in, if the answer is yes, to any of those then chances are they probably don’t need it. This Christmas we are going simple all the way, no more crazy toys that interest them for five minutes then just get thrown into the toy box. We are taking on the “snowman” approach. With this kept in mind everyone will get the same items and it will be stuff that they need and will use. Bottom half of his body is ONE big present of choice, toy, bike, whatever you choose. Middle half is going to be clothes, lets be real they always need clothes. The head is snacks and Christmas treats, and a card that can be hung around the neck will hold either money or a gift card of choice.

Going off of the snowman mindset, we are also setting a budget per child to kind of help us stay on track as well. This is about giving to them but also about keeping us on track as far as our budget goes. Go with what works for you, I have set a limit of $100 per child. Now that doesn’t mean I will spend the full amount; however, it leaves options open. We are looking to make memories this year instead of counting gifts.

When all else fails with gift giving, just remember to try and get them something they to want, something they need, something to wear, something to read, something to share, something for hair, something sweet and something for their feet.

You could choose to go all out, but I promise it’s the little things that matter always. So, when it comes down to it, don’t think so hard about giving presents. Just be present!

-Ms. Brittani
Lead Preschool Teacher
Wellness Coordinator