Kids vs. Cooperation: Four Ways to Get Them to Listen to You!

How many times have you ordered, "Don't do that" only to have your child continue rocking back on the kitchen chair? There are four mistakes with that statement. Let’s examine each hint individually. 1.Be Positive – If you want your kids to cooperate, you need to inform them exactly what you would like them to do, as opposed to what you don’t want them to do. Don’t and can’t are invisible commands. Kids only hear what comes after. Therefore, they translate “Don’t rock back on the chair” into “Rock back on the chair.” 2.Be Precise – When you said, “Don’t do that,” your youngster doesn’t understand what you mean by “that.” It could mean rocking on the chair, chewing his gum, or teasing his sister. When you want to prevent bad conduct, you should let the children know precisely what kind of conduct you want. Here’s a positive option with precise information: “Put your chair down so all four legs stay on the ground." Now junior understands what you want. 3.Add a reason – Certainly, he understands what you want, but he doesn’t know why it’s in his best interest to comply. To a child, a parental instruction sounds like a dictatorship. Until you offer an explanation, your youngster will continue to disobey. Add this sentence to the request: “So you don’t crack your head open after you fall.” 4.Add humor – Up to now, you’ve instructed your child what you expect in a particular manner while supplying a reason to obey. When you add humor, your child laughs, and the happy endorphins release a message in his head that says your request is acceptable to him. Add the last part of the sentence: “So you don’t crack your noggin open after you fall like Humpty Dumpty.” So there you've got it, an effective way to get your kids to cooperate. It's no secret that when kids understand what you want and why you want it, told in a pleasant manner, they don’t have any alte ative but to comply! (Well, almost always!)

As a child development teacher, Renee Heiss knows what children need and how parents can effectively care for their children. She has several books that help children become better family members: Helping Kids Help and Somebody Cares! To find more ways to raise cooperative, responsible children, go to www.reneeheiss.com/hkh.html and www.reneeheiss.somebodycares.html