| From a scolding to a bribe: how to teach good behavior |
It’s very difficult to learn not to scold your children. However, the leap from scolding to bribing is an easy one to make.Scolding: Yelling at the child without a positive objective in mind. Bribing: Making your child obey as soon as possible in exchange for immediate gratification. Neither action leads to a deep development of the child’s personality. What can you do? Bank on the innocence in your child’s heart, so that he aspires to be good. It may sound naïve, but professors from the Institute of Family Sciences in the University of Navarre, Spain, recommend appealing to a child’s better nature when teaching obedience. Human beings are clouds of wishes, aspirations, and dreams; with the right motivation, you can lead your child to make a commitment with himself to be obedient, because he wants to be good. What are the advantages of being good? • “You’ll have a day to play with your friends every week.” • “You’ll get that game you really want.” • “You’ll set a good example for your younger siblings.” • “After five proper acts of good behavior, you’ll earn the right to go to bed an hour later.” And now it’s your turn to add to the list. |

It’s very difficult to learn not to scold your children. However, the leap from scolding to bribing is an easy one to make.







