Boot Camp for Correcting Bad Behavior – Day 2
Day 2 – Communicating with Your Child Day
After you have made it through Day 1 of the Correcting Bad Behavior Boot Camp, it's time to focus on communicating with your child. You should have been using unique and calm communication yesterday, but you need to amp that up today. Read on to get the most out of Day 2!
Remain Focused
Day 2 is all about communicating with your child. Start with outlining your expectations as soon as your child wakes up on Day 2. Communicating with your child about your expectations will set the foundation for the day ahead and won't catch them off guard when you are still on their case. You will begin to offer a reminder when the unwanted behaviors surface—only one reminder. For example, “Please don't speak to mommy like that. Remember, if we can't be respectful, we have to have a reset.” From here, the kids are basically on a ”choose your own adventure.” Their behavior and decisions will dictate how the rest of Day 2 goes.
Follow Your Child's Lead
Your goal is not to provoke bad behavior so that you can correct them. Some children will respond quickly to Day 1 and may dramatically lessen the amount of bad behavior from the day before. But don’t let your guard down either. Your child will still get in trouble. Day 2 is easier – but it is no cakewalk! The majority of the unnerving tantrums will occur on Day 1, but your child will continue to test you to some extent.
Add in Praise
Along with continuing your corrections and applying consequences as needed, you want to start praising your child when they display good character traits. If you are not a natural at praising your kids, you will need to be on high alert for the boot camp. Praise is such an amazing tool! You do not have to focus only on the character trait you are trying to instill through this boot camp, but you do want to look for it! I suggest adding as many character traits as you can throughout the day. My go-to's are shown here.
Concluding Day 2
Continue using your corrections and praise throughout the day. At bedtime, communicate the lesson for that day. For example, “See how nice it is when we are respectful and kind for the day? So much less fighting and crying. Let's keep it up tomorrow. Good job!”
Next, we will move on to Day 3! You are past the intense days – now it's time for the fun! You can now move on to the Correcting Bad Behavior Boot Camp – DAY 3!
