To say the task of ‘parenting’ is overwhelming, would be a gross understatement. Behaviour management is a complicated beast: Rules vs Freedom. Boundaries vs Flexibility. Bully vs. Pushover. This is all in a day’s work. But what if we took the emotion out of the equation and just examined behaviour through a ‘language lens’? Could it be as simple as a ‘game of semantics’? Let’s look a little closer at what this ‘language of behaviour’ involves:
1. THE POWER OF CHOICE: X OR Y?
Are you currently experiencing the joys of a terrible two, threenager or teenager? While you have a battle of wills with the small dictator in your life, remember the power of choice. You provide the choices, you maintain the upper hand.
Speech pathologists effectively use choices not just as behaviour management technique but also to reduce the language demands of the task.
Instead of having to know and retrieve the answer, your child simply chooses from the two answers provided; you have scaffolded the task.
“Would like to wear these shoes OR those shoes?”
“Broad beans OR peas for greens tonight?”
2. THE POWER OF A BRIBE OR THREAT
‘If’ and ‘unless’ are known as ‘conditional conjunctions’ and these language elements are necessary for understanding the concept of a threat and a bribe. Obviously, bribes and threats are not the gold standard in the world of behaviour but we (parents) are not perfect!
Bribe Formula = ‘If x, then y’.
“IF you eat your broccoli (x), you can have an ice block (y) for dessert.”
Threat Formula = ‘No x unless y”.
“I won’t give you a push on the swing (x) UNLESS you say ‘please’ (y).”
3. THE POWER OF ‘POINTING POSITIVE’
‘Pointing positive’ is a behaviour technique where you say ‘what to do’ rather than ‘what not to do’.
The social-emotional side of ‘pointing positive’ is that you are parenting with positivity however from a language perspective it is easier to comprehend sentences without negation (ie. not).
“Don’t run!” INSTEAD SAY “Walking.”
“Don’t hit.” INSTEAD SAY “Be gentle.”
Beware of using double negatives in your sentences with young children as these are even more difficult to comprehend.
“If you don’t take those undies off your head, we will not be going to the playground.”
INSTEAD SAY
“If you take the undies off your head, we can go to the playground.”
4. THE POWER OF STATEMENTS NOT QUESTIONS
If what you are saying is a non-negotiable, don’t ask a question. Parents are often guilty of asking a question instead of providing a statement.
As speech pathologists, we often work on understanding how to formulate a statement versus a question.
“Are you ready to go in the car?” INSTEAD SAY “It’s time to go in the car.”
“Do you need to go to the toilet before we leave?” INSTEAD SAY “Come and do a wee on the toilet before we leave.”
This ‘language of behaviour’ strategy is easier said than done as often parents are busy avoiding sounding like a drill sergeant.But if all else fails, resort to option 2 (bribes and threats!).
If you would like to read some more behaviour, there are plenty of insightful blogs at Simply Kids by Stephanie Wicker https://www.simplykids.live/articles/challenging-behaviours and plenty of evidence linking language and behaviour by The Hanen Organisation http://www.hanen.org/SiteAssets/Articles—Printer-Friendly/Research-in-your-Daily-Work/Printer-Friendly—Behaviour-Regulation.aspx )
There is simply no way one could possibly overstate the power of words. In fact, if we as parents learn to use the power of words, we might experience some wins in the battle of behaviour. Well it’s worth a shot anyway!
Thanks for hearing our call.
Your Little Birdies,
Janice and Tania