Recovery

Using recovery for carelessness Recognize the behavior: Drops your phone. Identify what you want to see: Carefully holding your phone. Use the Skill: You might need to take the phone away. Then focus on what they’re doing well. Wait to talk about the phone until you are both calm. Then talk about how to care […]

Hand-Over-Hand

Using helping for carelessness Recognize the behavior: Drops your phone. Identify what you want to see: Carefully holding your phone. Use the Skill: For young children, you might need to hold their hands in yours while you hold the phone.  Purpose: You can use helping to teach your child how to do something carefully. In […]

Effective Commands

Using effective commands for carelessness Recognize the behavior: Drops your phone. Identify what you want to see: Carefully holding your phone. Use the Skill: Tell your child exactly how to be careful. For example, “Please use two hands to hold the phone.” Purpose: Effective commands tell your child that something needs to be done right […]

Consistent Consequences

Using consistent consequences for carelessness Recognize the behavior: Drops your phone. Identify what you want to see: Carefully holding your phone. Use the Skill: Possible praise: “Thank you for being careful with my phone.”  Possible negative consequence: putting the phone away or attaching a strap to your child’s wrist. Purpose: Consistent consequences are only for […]

Redoing

Using a redo for carelessness Recognize the behavior: Drops your phone. Identify what you want to see: Carefully holding your phone. Use the Skill: You might say, “Oops, the phone fell. You can try again. As long as you hold it carefully, you can keep playing.” Purpose: A redo gives children a chance to do […]

Modeling

Using modeling for carelessness Recognize the behavior: Drops your phone. Identify what you want to see: Carefully holding your phone. Use the Skill: Hold your phone the way you want your child to. You can also say out loud what you do to be careful. Purpose: Modeling shows your child how to make good choices. […]

Rules

Using rules for carelessness Recognize the behavior: Drops your phone. Identify what you want to see: Carefully holding your phone. Use the Skill: Try a rule like, “The rule is to hold my phone carefully in your hands. If you hold it carefully, you can keep playing. If you drop the phone, I will put […]

Choices

Using choices for carelessness Recognize the behavior: Drops your phone. Identify what you want to see: Carefully holding your phone. Use the Skill: Give choices for how to use the phone. For example, “You have two choices: you can hold my phone carefully, or I can hold it for you.” Purpose: Choices give children a […]

When-Then/If-Then

Using when-then & if-then statements for carelessness Recognize the behavior: Drops your phone. Identify what you want to see: Carefully holding your phone. Use the Skill: Follow up your praise for being careful with a when-then statement. For example, “When you are careful, I’m happy to let you play on my phone.”    Purpose: When-then & […]

Strategic Attention

Using strategic attention for carelessness Recognize the behavior: Drops your phone. Identify what you want to see: Carefully holding your phone. Use the Skill: Try to use skills like redirect and when-then statements. Then give lots of positive attention for being careful with the phone. Purpose: Strategic attention lets your child know what you like. Your […]