Freebie: My Wake Up Call

I have been getting pretty frustrated lately with my daughter’s hitting problem, mainly hitting her baby sister. Consistent time outs, taking toys away, taking stickers off of her job chart….it wasn’t working.

I read this article in the August issue of Parents “Discipline For Softies” written by Alan E. Kazdin, Ph.D. and president of the American Psychological Association.

It reminded me of something I knew and practiced while nannying…but had really forgotten, “If you really want your child to be better behaved, you actually need to praise him even more enthusiastically–and you can’t rely on punishment to fix a discipline problem.” he goes on to say, “Studies have shown that recognizing good behavior is the only way to teach a child what you want her to do—and to lock that behavior in.”

In the article he goes into great detail and gives some very helpful suggestions and examples.

Am I going to discontinue putting my daughter in time out when she does hit her sister? No.

But just after one day of being more positive, overly congratulating her when she does do the right thing, has already improved the situation tons.

I am checking his book out right now to learn more, The Kazdin Method for Parenting the Defiant Child, you can buy it here:

Tags: Parenting Tips, freebie, time outs

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