As parents we always hear how important positive reinforcement is when disciplining your child.  Instead of just punishing your toddler for wacking the dog, praise her when you catch her petting the puppy nicely. I’m sure you have all heard this over and over again.

Well, recently, I’ve discovered that this works for me as well.  I tend to beat myself up over every mistake I make as a parent and think “Alright now I’ve gone and screwed her up for good.”

Last week I started trying this positive reinforcement thing out on myself.  I have been ending every day with thinking of three things I did RIGHT that day concerning Eva.  It has seriously made a huge difference in my interactions with her.  Not only do I feel better about myself and my ability to raise a little human being but throughout the day I think about how I am going to have to answer to myself and I make better choices because of it.

Positive reinforcement has made me a better mom.

This picture is from our Duck feeding session this week.  Did you know that you can feed hard boiled eggs to ducks?  According to my duck-friendly sister it is better for them than bread.

Also, did you know that peeling hard boiled eggs is a great fine motor activity for toddlers?  I discovered that one for myself.  Now, if I could just figure out how to get her to eat one.

I hope you are all enjoying your Spring as much as we are!

My husband and little E are the cutest things ever. They just left to see a movie, Madagascar 2. E is not yet two but she is a major daddy’s girl and I think it is so adorable when they go and do things together. Now that I am home with her 24/7 I think it’s important for them to just have some quality time together. It also gives mommy some down time so it works out for everyone!
I suggested yesterday that he do something with just her this weekend and he was all over it. He took the initiative today and I could tell he was looking forward to it. She was so excited to go bye bye with her daddy and was all smiles as they were driving out of the garage.
Nothing makes me happier than seeing those two and the love they have for each other. I know how important it is for a daughter to have a dad that makes her feel special and teaches her how a man should treat her. I am so thankful that dh is that kind of father to her.

So I went to a seminar through work yesterday called Conscious Discipline. I was hoping to find some new strategies to use with Eva and I did take away some things that I will use. Remember though I am in no way an expert on this method so if you want a more detailed description please click on the link.

Is was a little difficult for me to “buy in” to everything they were saying but overall I think it is a good concept.  First they described children’s behavior in context of brain activity.

The brain stem, is the pat that tells you when you are in danger.  So when your child is screaming, hitting, and throwing a tantrum really what they are saying is “Am I safe?” This is where you convince your child that they are safe by getting down on their level and talking in a calm but assertive voice.  “You are mad that Sally took your toy away.  You wanted to play with that toy.”  You can encourage your child to take a deep breath to relieve tension.  This makes them feel safe because you are modeling self-control and helping them to get control of themselves.

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Ever since my daughter was 9 months old she has been in the sport of hitting mommy.  I remember the first time she did it, I was very surprised and tried to handle it as calmy as possible.  For the first few months I just told her “no, hitting. Nice” and rubbed her hand gently on my face. 

After she turned one I started getting mad when she would do it.  I have never and will never hit my daughter, then why is she hitting me?!  I would grab her hands and very sternly say “No, no hit!” 

She is now one and a half and still does it.  Actually she doesn’t just hit she scratches and pulls my hair too.  She doesn’t discriminate either. She does it to other kids, daddy, and the dog!  Now when she does it she immediatley says “Nice” and rubs her hand on my face.  That’s great and all but in a couple of minutes she does it again, and again, and again.  Since copius amounts of positive reinforcement hasn’t seemed to work I have started using time out after the third time.  Originally I thought she was too young but it actually works quite well with her. 

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Someone showed this to me yesterday and I think it is really cool.  I love Supernanny, she has some really great ideas and her website is very helpful.  It is especially great for people like me who are not the most crafty.

http://www.supernanny.com/Reward-Charts.aspx