Whether it is applied to adults or kids, giving a little praise can significantly help increase a person's interest in a subject or an activity. This is one aspect of parenting skills that parents need to understand and apply correctly. If parents overdo it, positive reinforcements such as praising become useless because it becomes ever-increasingly meaningless to the child who is receiving them. On the other hand, if positive reinforcements are irregular and inconstant with the good behavior performed by the children, it also becomes meaningless to the child and it does not serve to shape the child's learning.
Here are some common sense parenting key points to help parents effectively implement positive reinforcement. With developed parenting skill, parents can easily administer appropriate parenting solutions:
Send a clear message. Parents must be very clear on what is good or bad actions and behavior. If your kid performs a good act, praise him and make it clear to him what you are praising him for. And if the action is undesirable, avoid giving vague warnings like "please behave yourself". This doesn't give the child a good and clear idea of what action he has taken was wrong. Let your kids be clear of your parenting guidelines.
Choose your reinforcements. Rewards must match the magnitude of the behavior. They should match the child's age, capabilities, and the effort required to earn them. Kids have unique preferences. A reinforcement that is not relevant to your child will bear no value. For example, preschool children will like getting stickers and toys, while teenagers may prefer getting extra pocket money. Follow this basic common sense parenting.
Timing is everything. Consistency is the key. Make it an everyday routine for your kids. It helps them understand rules and expectations. Also, immediately reinforce good behavior. The shorter the delay between the behavior and reinforcement, the greater the chance of strengthening the behavior. When a new behavior performed by your child is desired, keep providing him with positive reinforcements. Until that behavior is instilled in your kid and is established, then you can cut back on the positive reinforcements.
Change the types of reinforcements given your child so he doesn't get bored of the reward or find that the same reward gradually diminishes in value over time. Wherever possible, try to reward your child with non-material items. Encouragement or a gentle pat on the back all serves the same purpose. Don't make it a point to have your child used to getting a material item for a job well done.
Good behavior should come instinctively from the child, and not done because he or she wants the reward that is hanging at the end of the action. One way to instill a proper sense of what's right or wrong is to combine praise along with an encouragement. This serves to strike the point across more strongly and helps reduce emphasis on just the praise alone.
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