This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Rewarding Behavior
Feb
12
2015
It is tempting to give an electronics device (iPad, Kindle Fire, anything else that has games) of some sort to youngsters who act up, in order to get them to sit still at an event.
But don’t.
That ends up being a reward for misbehaving. It should be this: sit still, and then you can play afterwards. Not this: you get to play if you’re being disruptive.
Which behavior do want to reinforce?
If I may try an analogy here: Raising kids is like firing a gun. Assume the kid is the bullet. You as a parent have a target for them to hit.
You do have a target, right?
Even if it is just “to become a productive member of society”, you should have a goal. You should have a plan to reach that goal, too. But that’s another topic.
So you want your kids to hit the target. The target is a long way off. What does a bullet need in order to reach the target?
Two main things: propulsion and constraint.
I’ll skip propulsion – the point of this post is boundaries. Constraint is the boundaries you give them.
A gun with a short barrel is inaccurate – the bullet has a low chance of hitting the target. Similarly, a child with no boundaries is going to veer off somewhere.
When is it easiest to correct the course of a bullet – at the beginning of its travel or near the end of its travel? At the beginning, I would expect. I’ve never tried to correct a bullet at the end of its travel. The same applies to people. Get them on the right course early, and it will save you and them much effort and grief later.
The right course at hand for this topic is being able to survive without being amused by a glowing screen.
And if you’re not familiar with the etymology of amuse, you should be.
I have no peace, no quietness;
I have no rest, but only turmoil.
Job 3:26
This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 6:49 am and has been carefully placed in the Life category.
