When you discipline a child in class or at home, your aim is usually to guide them child to be responsible, safe and to learn.
We watch and we reprimand when necessary:
“Don’t climb on the table!”
“No, don’t hurt the dog!”
“You didn’t listen!”
“Don’t copy your friend’s work!”
This might sound familiar to you and the scary reality is that these are all negative phrases. How often do we enforce the positive behaviour?
Catch them being good in class!
By changing the negative phrases to positive ones we can still achieve the same goal without sounding like a policeman:
“In our class/house we sit on chairs not on tables.”
“We love our dog/class hamster, we handle him with care.”
“Remember that one of our class/house rules is to listen when someone talk to you.”
“In our class we try our best and ask if we don’t understand.”
It is the same message – but I bet you, you will use a different tone of voice. Your student/child will not feel criticised the whole time. You will not feel as if you are saying “no” as often anymore.
Children need to be guided and reprimanded, but our choice of words can determine the outcome of the situation. It is true that a situation often needs more than a kind request, but this should still be done with unconditional love.
You might also want to read about how to be mentally fit to teach.
