10 important features to improve your use of Effective Directions!

This is a gentle reminder to give yourself grace, parenting can be challenging! Creating habits takes time and there will be moments of self doubt when finding a more comfortable pattern of interaction with your child.

Use of an encouragement system, or positive reinforcement, is a great way to reinforce compliant behaviors and increase your relationship with your child. A sticker chart, scooby loops, tally marks on a board involves the use of positive reinforcement for highlighting specific behaviors and increasing the chance for compliant behaviors to happen all while trying to get things done! This will help you learn to set your child up for success and catch them doing something helpful and appropriate rather than focusing on what they "should", "must" or "ought" to do.

Here are some features of Effective Encouragement Strategies:

1. Create and capitalize on opportunities for children to be successful and notice appropriate behaviors. Being proactive and noticing behaviors in real time is helpful for kiddos in remembering those behaviors.

2. Structure the environment to increases chances of success and completion of goals.

3. Make steps smaller when children aren't successful until they can succeed. Re-evaluate your goals, if needed.

4. Follow through by giving the incentive when it is earned and be consistent in expectations and use of the system.

5. Use praise and positive attention. Be generous with praise and attention for appropriate behaviors.

6. Pair praise with instrumental rewards, such as points, stars, kid bucks, loops, etc.

7. Encourage with a statement: "You can do it. I believe in you!"

8. Encourage small steps. Break goals, tasks, or complex behaviors into small, achievable steps and encourage progress toward the goal. Make the smaller when children aren't successful until the CAN succeed.

9. When/then rule. Teach children that WHEN they behave appropriately THEN they earn an incentive.

10. Set goals and teach children what they need to do to earn the incentive.

Five to 15 min of daily special playtime and use of the encouragement system gives you a chance to focus more on kiddos positive behaviors their children are doing rather than getting stuck in a cycle of negative interactions!

Sometimes it's nice to get reminders and reassurance that you are doing what you ca as a parent and that is good enough. The fact that you are here reading this post says so much about your desire to do different in your relationship with your kiddos!

Need more support? Contact me for more information!