Give Directions.

Tell children what you want them to do, not what you don’t want them to do. Children have a hard time processing all of the words.

Examples:

“Don’t spill your milk.” Believe it or not, children hear, “Spill your milk.”

“Don’t run in the house.” Children hear, “run in the house.”

How do you change the terminology? Tell them what you actually want them to do.

“Be careful and aware. You have milk next to you and it could spill, if you are not careful.”

“I would prefer that you walk in the house. Running is an outside activity.”