The Truth About Consequences 77that he must comply quickly because his parents are go-
ing to issue a command only once or twice; (4) imple-
menting a record-keeping system (points, stickers,
happy faces, and the like) to track the child’s perfor-
mance on specified target behaviors (such as complying
with adult commands, doing homework, getting ready
for school, brushing teeth, and so forth); (5) delivering
consequences—rewards, such as allowance money and
special privileges, and punishments, such as time-outs
and the loss of privileges—contingent upon the child’s
successful or unsuccessful performance; and (6) teach-
ing the child that his parents won’t back down in the
face of explosions. This conventional approach isn’t
magic; it merely formalizes practices that are considered
important cornerstones of effective parenting: being
clear about how a child should and should not behave,
consistently expecting and insisting upon appropriate
behavior, and giving a child the incentive to perform
such behavior.
Some parents and their children benefit enormously
from these programs, find that the above procedures pro-
vide some needed structure and organization to family
discipline, and end up sticking with the program for a
long time. Other parents may not stick with a formal be-
havior management program for long but still change
some fundamental aspects of their approach to parent-
ing and therefore become more effective at teaching and