Smart Parenting Tip – Start a First-Timer Club

This smart parenting tip is really ingenious. There are different opinions as to who developed it, but that’s really not important. What’s more important is that it can help you create a reality many parents only dream of …

… getting your child to do something the first time you ask him.

Wouldn’t that be great? Imagine a paradise-world where you don’t have to ask your child over and over to do something. While single people might dream of owning a big home or buying a new car, parents actually do dream of this “oh if it could only happen” reality with their children.

You might be a first-time parent. Maybe this is your fourth or fifth go around as a parent. Either way, you have no doubt had issue with your child doing what you ask of him.

He may eventually get around to what you requested, but only after a lot of frustration, repetitive begging, eye-rolling and emotional distress for both of you. If that’s happened to you, maybe you both could benefit from the First-Timer Club parenting strategy.

Here’s what you do.

• Create a chart of 30 squares.
• Tell your child you will reward first-time behavior. Whenever he does something the first time you ask, a happy face goes in one of the squares.
• Whenever the board is filled with nothing but smiley faces, your child has earned a reward.

That’s it. It’s so simple but incredibly powerful. Agree on what the reward is going to be beforehand. A smart parenting tip here is to include a picture of the reward on the chart to keep your child motivated.

You should also tell your child how he is to interact with you when you ask him to do something. Tell him to use good eye contact and listen quietly. Once you’re through with your request he should repeat it back to you and say, “I will do that.” Then he immediately acts upon your request.

Too many times we believe that good parenting means adopting complex, difficult practices. That’s not always the case. Sometimes simplicity can work wonders. In this case you use a simple combination of reward and competition to get your child behaving appropriately.

He is competing with himself and also with you. If he does what is required, he gets a reward. This teaches your child the importance of following directions. It also shows him how to follow a step-by-step system to create a desired reality. He learns structure and delayed gratification.

To take this smart parenting practice one step further, try this. Keep track of how many days it takes for your child to fill up the board and get a reward. Make sure you give praise every time a happy face is earned. Then when you give the reward, show your child how many days or weeks it took to complete the chart.

Tell him you’ll get a bigger reward if he can fill up the next board quicker than he did the last time. Also, make sure you provide the reward immediately. He’s worked very hard to do what you asked on a regular basis, and deserves your praise and his reward soon after filling the chart.