All parents everywhere love their children and want the best for them, and want them to be happy and to feel good about themselves. Adults often judge themselves by the success and failures of children. Adults may fail because they are inconsistent and many times say things they do not mean. They lack patience and frequently react to negative rather than positive behaviors.

Good early childhood skills are developed through consistency and patience and the realization that children’s behavior is linked to adult’s behavior. Many times adults tend to do things not out of meanness, but because they just do not know any better ways. It usually was the way they were raised themselves and they just don’t know any better techniques so they do what’s familiar. Adults need to realize that they are role models for young children. Successful caregivers emphasize attributes such as cooperation not control and they model responsibility to encourages children to develop self-control.

Infants: Routines - Consistency in routines is one of the most important factors in successful early childhood development. Develop a routine for changing diapers, eating and for nap and bedtime and be consistent with the time. Children will always test the rules. They can’t verbalize that they prefer adults who follow through, but they do because it lets them know what the limits are. This is especially important for infants.

Toddlers: Focus on Positive Behavior - B.F. Skinner, a psychologist from Harvard, discovered that actions that get attention get repeated. Adults should learn to use a technique called “positive reinforcements” to change children’s behavior. Unsuccessful adults always focus on children’s negative behaviors rather than on their positive behaviors. Using positive reinforcements will allow adults to become proactive to what children are doing and not reactive to what misbehaviors are going on.

Preschoolers: Internal & External Motivation - All children are motivated, but not all are motivated to behave and work hard. Some motivation comes from inside you, and that’s called internal motivation. Some motivation comes from outside of you, and that’s called external motivation. When we get up each morning to go to work every day and we get personal satisfaction from work that is internal motivation. When we get paid, that is external motivation. Adults should emphasize the children’s successes because success creates internal motivation. Point out the strengths and show children where they have made progress. This helps them to feel successful and success breeds more success. Expect progress in children not perfection. Adults have a tendency to focus on negative behavior. They tell children what they are doing wrong instead of focusing on what they have done correctly. Unfortunately, it is the misbehaviors that get all the attention.

Adults have to remember that not all techniques will work with all children all of the time. It takes patience and consistency to find the ones that will work. Accept children for who they are, not for what they do. Show trust and confidence in children’s abilities and decisions.

NOTHING IMPROVES A CHILD’S HEARING MORE THAN PRAISE