(his empty stomach) talk to him instead of his mother talking to him.
Give him some encouragement by saying something like this: “I’m
sure you’ll do better tomorrow.”
Another example of a good time to use natural consequences? The
wintertime dress of preteens and adolescents. All parents know that
middle school and high school students think there are federal laws
against zipping or buttoning up their coats in the winter. These kids
do not want to look like their mothers dressed them in the morning.
The solution? Let the cold talk to the kids if they’re not dressed
properly, and avoid starting the day with the obvious, aggravating
comment, “You’re not going out like that again, are you?”
Here’s one final, real-life example of natural consequences. A
mother I used to see years ago had a four-year-old boy who was
driving her nuts in the morning. The boy was in preschool, but he
wouldn’t get dressed on time for his car-pool ride. Every morning
when the horn honked in the driveway, this little guy was sitting in his
pajamas watching cartoons on TV. The poor mom was tearing her hair
out.
CautionNatural reinforcers, such as praise, sometimes aren’t enough to motivate children
to complete a task—especially if the kids hate the job! In these cases artificial
rewards can be used. Try to borrow some motivation from somewhere else. It
works!One morning she decided she’d had enough. The boy was in his