Celebrate what they got right!

This is something I should always remind myself.

We spend a lot if time correcting our kids. But what do we do when our kids get it right?

Do an experiment. In a day, tally every time you correct your child (or mom or friend or office mate or subordinate, etc.) versus every time you celebrated that right things he did. Which list is the longest?

Why not spend more time celebrating what they are doing right than correcting what they are doing wrong?

As I watched Eric with Nathan, I noticed Eric stopped correcting Nathan’s “W” sitting position to “Indian sit” position. The “W” sit is really bad for his knees. Eric did this to simply be more of a “friend” and gain Nathan’s trust…not a bad decision considering how he assessed the situation. However, I also saw Nathan independently do the “Indian sit” at least 3 times during the session.

Why not celebrate what he did right? Eye’s wide open (like you just saw a rare treasure), with big body gestures say something like, “Oh my gosh! You did an Indian sit all by yourself! Amazing!”….or whatever celebration comes naturally to you.

Kids, or everyone for that matter, become more motivated when they are told they got it right, rather than when they keep on feeling they got it wrong.

Thanks Eric, your session was an eye-opener for me.