Violent Acres: Training Children Part II; Effective Negative Reinforcement
An important thing to consider when you’re shaping good behavior is that it works best when the person doesn’t realize you’re doing it. This is just as true whether you’re shaping behavior in a 6 year old child or a 43 year old man.
So if you only get your kids every other weekend, you’re pretty much screwed.
If you don’t accept this now, you’ll likely spend the next 2 decades contemplating driving your car into a goddamn tree.
She said a screenful there.
@Queen of Shake Shake: Yes, I think she has two kids. But she really doesn’t care what you think! Check her FAQ’s: pretty healthy blog attitude if you stop and think about it.
I read the link. I have to say while it sounds all great on paper, so do a lot of unrealistic theories. I’m sure glad Violent Acres wasn’t my mother or father. But however V.A. wants to play the parenting game, so be it. V.A. is a parent, right?
Hmm, well, discipline is always problematic. Definitely the worst thing you can do is empty threats; Ben is frequently guilty of this. His problem is that he often doesn’t feel like putting down the remote control or getting up to enforce his ultimatums (ultimata?).
My positive reinforcement of the kids tends to be verbal rather than material, and negative reinforcement is done by removing privileges (snacks, TV, etc.). Of course, there are enough times when I just howl at them like a banshee, but that’s notoriously ineffective and I try to avoid it.