Tips for recognizing and praising positive behaviours:

– Say something straight away.

– Be specific about what you liked, e.g. “I like that you waited for your turn. That was very kind” is better than “Good boy.”

– Show warmth. A touch on the shoulder, eye contact, a smile, enthusiasm all make your praise more powerful.

– Avoid giving back-handed praise. This is where you praise good behaviour but then follow it with something negative, which take the praise away, e.g. like “Well done, you tidied up. Now why can’t you do that more often?”

– Focus on effort/behaviours they can control. “You worked really hard on that artwork, I’m proud of you”

– If it’s been a day with lots of challenging behaviours, try find small things to praise.

The more we notice the positives and praise them, our children learn the right behaviours and this helps them to make better choices in the long term.