Words you will hear a lot around our house:
“That’s not Zachary’s”
And
“Good choices”
And let me tell you something- they tend to work. Now, he is a toddler so it often takes a very serious tone and sometimes a couple repeats but thats better than what it could be.
As he approaches something that he shouldn’t be playing with rather than just shouting, “no” at him we can explain to him that he shouldn’t be playing with that item and WHY he shouldn’t be playing with it. Then when he walks away, we reward him by telling him that he made a good choice (which, by the way, is evidently the laughing stock of the east coast as my friends that live there took that one back with them and now positively reinforce everyone they know by telling them that they made “good choices”). The “good choices” also helps us not speak to our child like a dog by calling him a “good boy” (though, I have to admit that it hasn’t eliminated that entirely for us).
As he approaches something that he shouldn’t be playing with rather than just shouting, “no” at him we can explain to him that he shouldn’t be playing with that item and WHY he shouldn’t be playing with it. Then when he walks away, we reward him by telling him that he made a good choice (which, by the way, is evidently the laughing stock of the east coast as my friends that live there took that one back with them and now positively reinforce everyone they know by telling them that they made “good choices”). The “good choices” also helps us not speak to our child like a dog by calling him a “good boy” (though, I have to admit that it hasn’t eliminated that entirely for us).
I bring this up because we are endeavoring on a new holiday season. Last year, we gated off the tree. This year, I am going to give it a go and try to just teach Zach not to mess with the decorations. So far, so good but we will see if it endures. I think that tree and all are going to be pretty attractive nuisances for my little man.
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