Here are a few examples to illustrate
how to apply logical consequences that follow the three R’s
- Related
- Respectful
- Reasonable
Logical consequences are even more effective if they also help children focus on a solution to a problem or misbehavior.
There are endless possibilities for each unique parenting situation, so don’t feel limited by these examples.
Child Spills a Drink - Involve the child in
cleaning up the drink. Even children as young as two and three years
old can learn to wipe up the spill from a drink.
Fighting Over a Toy - An adult puts the toy away
until the children have come up with a solution on how to share the
toy. At first the adult may have to offer a few choices on how to share
the toy, if children aren’t used to working out their own solutions.
This works best for ages 5 and up.
Forgot a Chore - When a child forgets to do a chore, the child either done an extra chore or does a chore for someone else in the house.
Toileting Accidents - Young children learning to
use the toilet can help clean up their accidents with parents. Children
can remove their soiled clothes and carry them to the washing machine
and get a washcloth from the linen closet for clean up. (Make sure to
read tomorrow’s post about how to have a respectful attitude when
getting your child involved in cleaning up toileting accidents.
Won’t Pick up Toys - Adults can clean up the toys
themselves and put them away out of reach of children. Since the adult
did a job for the child, by picking up the toys, the child must do a
job for the parent to get the toys back. Children are more capable than
many adults think they are. Children can feed pets, empty wastebaskets,
vacuum and more.
Logical consequences are only one of the many Positive Discipline parenting tools. Check THINK it THROUGH PARENTING.com and PositiveDiscipline.com for articles on other Positive Discipline parenting tools.
The book Positive Discipline A - Z offers many examples on different ways to handle misbehaviors and issues with children.