The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly When it Comes to Praise, Rewards, and Punishment

Anyone else confused about when to praise a child...if ever? When to reinforce something? What about punishment?

Wow...supporting children who are experiencing big emotions is not for the faint of heart that's for sure.

And it seems everyone (including me) has an option on how to "weather the storm".

In this PreK Teach and Play podcast episode, Alyssa Blask Campbell, Laura Fish, Dr. Shauna Tominey and I dig deep into what we mean when we use phrases like praise, rewards, and punishment. We also work really hard to share practical ideas to help teachers and parents support young children's development and to weather the storm of big emotions.

During our conversation, we examine...

• How to avoid teaching compliance over connection
• Why our own emotional responses to undesired behaviors can result in both children and ourselves becoming dysregulated
• How traditional views on praise, rewards, and punishment need a makeover...where our aim is to help the child develop, not manage their behavior.

Key take aways...

And while we share many tips and suggestions...we all agree on the need to hone our own awareness of what is going on (for ourselves and our children) and for co-regulating when supporting children's emerging ability to self-regulate.

This episode also includes access to a collection of annotated resources to help you think beyond Applied Behavior Analysis and the use of behavior charts.