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Teaching children how you would like them to behave, especially in public places, can often be a struggle. If you’re a parent, you’ve probably gotten the stares from other adults and the shaking heads when your child had a temper tantrum at the worst possible time. It’s hard not to react at those times. Even as a business owner or worker, it’s hard not to judge parents when their children have meltdowns when you’re trying to work. When this happens, children are often punished or receive some form of negative reinforcement. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the best way to teach children the way that you actually want them to behave in public. But what if there were ways that you could help avoid the situation altogether and mitigate meltdowns in public places? Positive reinforcement for good behavior is one way to help improve a child’s overall behavior and experiences in public. Here’s how to implement positive reinforcement training anywhere.
Deliver Specific Praise
We all know it’s easier to correct and be negative when a child is acting out, but reinforcing the behaviors that you want to see can make a big difference in a child’s behavior. Specific verbal reinforcement can help to teach children when they’ve done something right. Provide very specific praise when you see them acting in a positive fashion. If a child is kind to another child or they are polite, using please and thank you, make sure to tell them specifically that they did a good job.
Positive Non-Verbal Reinforcement
Along with verbal reinforcement, you should also consider using non-verbal reinforcement. Rubbing a child on the back or providing them with a reward from a toy machine can help to remind a child when they’re doing the right thing. Treasure Towers make it easy to reward children non-verbally with affordable toys for positive actions, by presenting a token when they have earned it.
Ignore Mild Negative Behaviors
While it can often be hard to ignore negative behaviors, and some behaviors need to be addressed promptly, it can be a beneficial training technique to ignore mild negative behaviors. Often, children will act out for attention, and by providing it, you’re rewarding them for the behaviors that you don’t want to see. Opt to let them cry it out in the car or fight through to ignore them if you’re on the phone and vying for your attention. Once the negative behavior has stopped, you can reward them with your attention for the first, small positive behavior they show.
Make Positive Reinforcement Easy
The hardest part about positive reinforcement is simply making it easy to incorporate into everyday moments. By making it easy to provide this reinforcement, either verbally or non-verbally, it’s much easier to teach a child what you expect of them. Treasure Towers makes it easy to reward a child with a token which they can redeem for a small toy at a later time.
Help parents and help yourself by purchasing a Treasure Tower for your place of business. Reward kids for positive behaviors promptly and effectively with this affordable kid’s reward program.