Reinforcement

What does your little one LOVE to do? Maybe it’s doing a craft, baking a treat, or playing hide and seek as a family. These are all ways that you can motivate your little one to do the not-so-fun stuff… like cleaning their room, brushing teeth, or eating broccoli. The way that you utilize the enticing activities is called reinforcement. 

Reinforcement is when you add an enticing item or remove an aversive item so that the behavior INCREASES. Behaviors that we may want to increase include, trying new foods at the dinner table, waiting to take turns with a sibling appropriately, or finishing their homework. We want those behaviors to continue so we provide reinforcement. When you see these behaviors you can reinforce them by giving praise, providing a sweet treat, or giving a token to earn a bigger prize. 

Reinforcement schedules are a key aspect to the behavior increasing. When working on a new skill, such as trying new food, reinforce for every time they engage in the target behavior (eating broccoli). Reinforcing after every occurrence is called a fixed ratio schedule. Once they start to understand the expectations, spread out the reinforcement to a variable ratio schedule. A variable ratio schedule is when you reinforce after different amounts of responses. For example, your child takes three bites of broccoli, you give them a sticker. Next, your child takes one bite of broccoli, you give a sticker. By changing up when you provide the reinforcement they are more likely to increase behavior. 

Please remember that if the behavior you want to see is not increasing through your method of reinforcement, it is actually not reinforcing and a new method should be chosen. This week, I encourage your to reinforce the amazing things that our children do! Give your little one praise when they are waiting patiently in the car, when they try a new food give them a sticker, or when they sit down to do their homework without prompts throw a dance party.