Being Positive about Misbehavior

Our young grandchildren and their parents have been living at our house for the past year. It's been fun to have them there, and great to have the extra time with them.

Sometimes the children get caught up in activities and don't think of the consequences.

One afternoon they picked up walnuts and began to throw them at the white cinder block wall. They laughed and had a lot of fun. Soon the wall was covered with black splats.

I talked to the kids about how the wall looked. They agreed that it didn't look good. I got out the bucket of paint, and they covered the wall.

The splats were still there. That paint didn't work. Off to the hardware store to get some better paint.

This time the paint covered. The girls had fun painting. I don't think they'll use the wall for target practice again.

There was no need for shaming or criticism. The girls learned the lesson they needed to learn and corrected their mistakes, so all was well.

No Negativity necessary.

In fact, the child's self esteem is enhanced in a situation like this because they were able to solve their problem in a positive way.

Build you child's self esteem. Be positive and solution focused with them.