The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically I

Learning Curves 159

tion, and intensity of explosions. And, of course, an in-

crease in the use of Plan B also means that numerous

triggers—problems that have yet to be solved—are getting

solved. Some families are able to achieve this in a few

weeks, some take several months, and others take longer

still. Some children continue to have occasional, residual

unsafe episodes for a few months, but such episodes are

often far less intense and fizzle out a lot faster. As you’ll

read in the next chapter, once this phase has been reached,

the stage is set for more direct work on your child’s path-

ways.

Should I reward my child for doing Plan B?

Fewer explosions and getting along better with you are
usually reward enough.

So, does using this approach mean that rewards and

punishments are completely out of the picture?

Not necessarily. But by now you should have a very real-
istic sense of what rewards and punishments can and can’t
help you achieve and an awareness of the special care re-
quired when using consequences with an explosive child.
The real question is this: Will additional motivation en-
hance your child’s performance at any point along the
way? The answer: probably not. But let’s think about it.