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.