Biting Hurts VIII
Attending To Behavior
Paying attention to appropriate behavior is an effective strategy to teach social skills and address particular behavior problems. Simply stated, catch children "being good". However, it's not enough just to provide praise, such as "good job" or "awesome", it is also important to detail or label the behavior in which the child is engaged. For example, in biting behavior, recognize any moment in time (teachable moment) when a child physically interacts with another child in an appropriate way (particularly in stressful situations or under conditions that have been recognized to trigger biting behavior) and reinforce the behavior using labeled praise such as, "I like the way you are playing safely with your friend. Good Job!" For climbing behavior, the labeled praise might go something like, "I like the way you are keeping your feet on the floor. Way to go!" During cooperative play, such as when two children are working on a puzzle together, the caregiver might state, "I like the way you are sharing your toy with your friend! Awesome".
Being more aware of our behavior also helps us to be more in control over our behavior. For many of our toddlers and two's, behavior is the result of impulsive or unconcious processes. Before children can make good decisions or choices regarding their actions, they must first experience a greater awareness or realization of their immediate behavior. Labeled praise serves the purpose of helping call childrens' attention to their behavior.
Labeled praise also sends a message that caregivers find particular behaviors more important or "praiseworthy" than others and that they will seek out children who engage in these behaviors to provide them with attention. The need for attention is a powerful motivator that shapes childrens' behavior. If caregivers' consistantly attend to appropriate behavior and minimize the amount of attention they provide in response to inappropriate behavior, children will modify their behavior accordingly. More on this later.
