I wrote a guest post for my lovely blogger friend Jenni from Chilling with Lucas. Inspired by an overheard conversation (I’m such an earwigger, aren’t I?!) where a mother told her young son that if he put his coat on, she would buy him the lollypop he’d been asking for.
Why not just teach him that he needs his coat because he’ll be cold? I know children don’t listen all the time…or any time in some cases…but what is the worst that can happen? He refuses to put it on and ends up cold? Surely that is a better lesson than “if I do as I’m told, I get what I want.”
My time training as a Montessori teacher really encouraged me to look harder at child development, listen to children more and look at the wider picture. Why do adults often think we can control every element of our children’s lives?
Please click here to read about my dislike of extrinsic motivations as a method of childcare/teaching. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this highly emotive subject.
