Behavior Molding

Our low-key anniversary celebration was, in my opinion, perfect. The day was spent riding bikes with Timmy through the neighborhood. After it became too hot to pedal, we packed up and took both boys to the splash pad. Scott and I saw in the shade watching Robby and Timmy's epic water gun showdown. 

Scott surprised me with a dinner reservation to my very favorite restaurant. The boys were well-behaved throughout dinner, and everybody ate their meal without complaint or drama. I can't remember the last time we all went to a restaurant without somebody (Timmy) experiencing a meltdown or creating drama.  Fingers crossed we turned the page on some behavior issues that we have been addressing!

Last week, after returning from visiting my Mom, Scott and I sat down and developed a plan for addressing Timmy's defiance and disregard for instruction. We figured out what doesn't work for him (yelling or punishment) and what seemed to elicit the quickest and most advantageous responses (praise and positive attention.)  Instead of constantly quipping no or putting him in time-out for misbehavior, we decided that we were going to triple down on positive reinforcement.  

After developing our plan, we knew that it would only be effective if Robby was on board. Timmy absolutely idolizes his big brother. Robby's power of persuasion is definitely greater than ours as parents, and we knew that we would be successful if we could leverage that control to mold appropriate behavior. 

Now every time Timmy listens, is helpful or is behaving,  he is lauded with praise and accolades. It didn't take long for us to see the benefits of our new behavior approach. Yelling and punishment have been replaced with happiness and hugs. I really wish that we had figured this out earlier! It is wonderful having two non-destructive, happy children!