The power of positive reinforcement

When it comes to raising children, pretty much everyone agrees that positive reinforcement is a good thing. If you have children in the modern age, you probably already know what positive reinforcement is - but if you don't then you may be sitting there wondering what I'm talking about.

Positive reinforcement is basically encouraging the child whenever he does something right. So for example, whenever Gerry points at a cup and says the word "cup", then the missus and I will both say "Yes, thats right - well done Gerry!". This praise lets him know that he did something right. He feels good for getting praise and therefore, he remembers. Furthermore, he is encouraged to continue doing things right. Hence the term - positive reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement obviously applies to actions as well as objects. For example, we will ask Gerry to put away his toys after playing with them. If he does this, then again, we give him praise and say "Well done". Again, this encourages the correct behaviour in your child.

So, as I said above, everyone pretty much agrees that positive reinforcement is a good thing when it comes to raising kids. Unfortunately, noone ever warned me about the dangers of positive reinforcement. Dangers? "What could possibly go wrong" I hear you cry!

Well, remember how I mentioned that everytime Gerry names something correctly, we say "Yes, thats right - well done Gerry!". Well, it appears that Gerry really likes positive reinforcement. In fact, he likes it so much that he now does it himself instead of waiting for us to do it!

How do you positively reinforce yourself? Simple. Nowadays, Gerry will point at a cup and say "Cup, yeah!"...