Catch Your Child Doing Something Good

As parents, we all spend so much time saying "stop it", "don't do that." Everything is so negative. Take some time to tell your child what you like about their behavior or their attitude. It shouldn't be while you're in a heated argument. It should be out of the blue. Just engage your child in a conversation and let them know how you appreciate how peaceful the house has been or you appreciated them following through with chore requests.

Pick a random time in the day to say, "Hey, I'm glad you remember that I asked you to clean up your bedroom." or "I'm proud of you for getting along so well with your brother. You're being an awesome big sister." You will fill your child with pride and challenge them to keep up the good behavior.

If you're dealing with a troublesome child, you may have to stretch your imagine when finding something good to compliment them about. It doesn't matter how minuscule the action is, compliment them when you can. They may not fit into your structure, but there will still be times you can say they're doing a good job and I need to let them know that.