Get With the Program, Part III

After devoting my last two posts to behavior programs, I recognized I should have stated at the very beginning that I seldom use behavior programs to address behavior problems with young children. In fact, hardly ever and typically only with individual children. If you are consistent in your efforts to recognize appropriate behavior, there is not usually a need to develop a structured program to guide your interactions with children. In addition, the attention and affection we provide children when appropriate is usually all that is needed to reward or reinforce behavior. Young children may also have a difficult time understanding how a behavior program operates or, simply, they lack the interest needed participate in a program successfully. Often I find that exceptionally bright or perceptive preschoolers respond best to individual behavior programs.

Like many things in life, the motto "Keep it simple, make it fun" applies to behavior programs. In addition, for any program to work, care-givers must be invested in the success of the program and diligent in their efforts to implement it consistently each and every day. If you don't think it is important, worthwhile or fun, neither will the children. Again, I suggest that care-givers follow their daily schedule and take the opportunity to reflect with children about their behavior during transitions from one activity to another (see Get With the Program, Part II). This doesn't take long and can easily become a part of your normal daily interactions with children. Identify the total number of transitions possible from activities listed your daily schedule (let's say 12) and determine a level of success (let's say 6) that a child can achieve daily in their target behavior (let's say Safe Hands). That is, we expect children in this instance to be able to use their safe hands during at least 6 of 12 scheduled activities. For some children the level of success may be set higher, for some, the level may actually be lower. Most importantly, caregivers need to determine a level where children will experience success. If we develop unrealistic goals for children's performance our behavior program is doomed to failure. We start at achievable levels and increase expectations over time. Before you start a behavior program, let children know how the program works and the expectations for success.

Caregivers can have children chart their success with the target behavior by placing a check mark next to the activity on their daily schedule. An alternative system utilizes "tokens", such as poker chips, that are awarded to children during transitions and then deposited in a "bank". At the end of the day, the parent or caregiver can check children's progress and determine whether they had met their goal regarding the target behavior. Again, we eliminate the issue of making arbitrary decisions whether children have been good or bad and focus instead on measurable performance regarding the target behavior. Finally, be careful not to use behavior programs to threaten children, such as "You won't get a token if you keep that up!" or to penalize children for inappropriate behavior by taking away check marks or tokens earned. If there's a problem engaging in the target behavior, children will fail to earn a check mark or a token but always have the opportunity to redeem themselves and earn more. If children successfully engage in the appropriate target behavior but experience other behavior problems, they still earn a check mark or token but may face a consequence for their other misbehavior. A behavior program is like a contract with children, we can't be changing our stated expectations in response to other problems.