Saying what you do want

It's easy to get into the habit of telling our children what we don't want them to do instead of what we want them to do. If you read “Don’t think of a red fire truck” most people will automatically think of a red fire truck. When you want your children to change their behavior, try telling them what to do instead of what not to do.

Saying what we do not want:

• Don’t run!
• Stop yelling.
• Don’t give me that look!
• No throwing cars!

It's better to say what we do want:

• Please walk.
• Please speak more quietly.
• I’ll be happy to talk to you when you are looking at me in a respectful way.
• You can push the cars on the track.