The Importance of Follow Through with Children

I was eating at a restaurant, and a young child was running around. The mother told he her to stop, or she would be in trouble, but it didn't stop the child from doing what she wanted. She got up multiple times, while the mom continued to eat. I spent a lot of years in education, so I learned if you told a child if she makes a choice, and there will be consquences, you best be ready to act.

1. Define the Problem

In the case above, it's simply, if you get up and leave. You need to tell the child what the behaiour is that you want then to correct, or stop doing.

2. State the Consequence

If the child doesn't stop the behaviour, what will you as a parent do? In the above example, it could be leave the restaurant. Pick something that is important to the child.

3. Follow Through

If you say you're going to do something, do it. Otherwise, the child has no reason to listen to you, like the child above. Mom could threaten her all she wanted, but the child knew mom wouldn't act.

This is not to sound critical, it's hard to be a parent. It's given in the spirit of help. You're not able to do all steps on certain occasions, because sometime behaviours come out of nowhere and a warning isn't possible. Also, you have to figure out what is worth it. In my example above, some parents are okay if their child runs around a family restaurant, other parents want everyone to sit together. Not everything needs a consquence, it's up to a parent and the rules of their household to figure out what works for them.