Acknowledging Children's Positive Behaviors

Record the number of times the behaviors of interest occur

Pay attention to child behavior and adult behavior.
Write down what and how often the child engages in undesirable and desirable behaviors.
Write down how often and what types of attention adults provide to the child (for desirable as well as undesirable behaviors).
The larger a child’s emotional vocabulary, the finer discriminations he or she can make between feelings and the better he or she can communicate with others about his or her emotions and possible problems.

Give positive responses to the desired behavior and avoid responding when that behavior is not occurring.

Positive responses include telling the child what he or she did well.
Positive responses can include presenting favorite toys or other items.
Nonverbal responses might include smiles, thumbs-up, and pats on the back.
Be prepared for the child’s behavior to get worse initially in one or more areas before it begins to get better.
Make a plan for responding to unsafe behavior.

Design a plan to meet your individual needs.

Individualize the plan for each situation.
Select one desired behavior as a starting point.
Move to more challenging behaviors after experiencing some success.
Define the behavior you want to see occur more frequently (consider where, when, and how often).
Think of situations or activities that might increase the child’s opportunities to engage in the desired behavior.
Develop a list of positive responses that adults can use when the child engages in the positive behavior (consider nonverbal as well as verbal).
Do not respond to unacceptable behavior unless the child, someone else, or an important object is in immediate danger. If you have to react because of safety, do so quickly and with a minimum amount of interaction.
Decide on a schedule to begin Acknowledging Positive Behaviors.

Return to What Works Briefs

Return to Resources

This material was developed by the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (Cooperative Agreement N. PHS 90YD0119). The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial projects, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. You may reproduce this material for training and information purposes.

We welcome your feedback on this What Works Brief. Please go to the CSEFEL Web site (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel) or call us at (866) 433-1966 to offer suggestions.