Try this before you nag
As parents we verbally cue our young children constantly.
“Stop hitting your sister!”
“Pick up your toys!”
“Don’t lick the window! (yep, I said this one today!) 🤦🏼♀️
So how do we stop subconscious behaviours without sounding like a broken record?
Nagging doesn’t work, it wears kids down and makes them feel like we’re always out to get them! ❤️
Perhaps your child is working on a speech error they just can’t seem to correct? Or eliminating a habit, like thumb sucking, that they just can’t seem to shake. 😌 I’m THAT speech pathologist who is blurring the lines of professional / mum, trying to teach my 4 year old to breathe through his nose NOT his mouth - a subconscious behaviour that needs to be corrected!
I recently saw a recommendation from @grahamspeechpathology to watch a presentation from Linda D’Onofrio (which was AMAZING!!!). Linda is a speech pathologist focusing in craniofacial disorders, oromyofunctional disorders, dysphagia, and sensory-motor speech disorders. I LOVED an idea Linda shared.
Essentially - quit the nagging!
Nagging is not an effective technique to change learnt behaviours, “If you use that technique for subconscious behaviours, you’ll be fighting them until they’re 20…” So, what then? “Non verbal signals work like a dream!” SO SIMPLE!
Whether it’s a thumbs up, a sneaky point to the nose, pull of the ear … whatever the signal! Let the child decide that signal so they feel empowered!
So if you notice your child is still displaying that behaviour that needs to be changed …
👀 engage them in eye contact
🤫 don’t say a word
♥️ do that chosen nonverbal signal
This will help cue them to change that behaviour right there in that very moment. Then a little smile and a wink will also give them some nice encouragement too!
Lauren is a speech pathologist who has over 15 years experience working with children and teenagers who present with a range of learning and communication difficulties. Lauren is passionate about helping others and loves to find simple and creative ways to make learning fun! The blog posts featured on this site are written on behalf of Remindables and are intended for educational purposes only and to provide general information and an understanding on a particular topic. By using this blog site you must be aware that the information shown is not to be used as a substitute for therapy advice and you should therefore seek the opinion of suitable professionals to assist you. The views expressed here are the author’s views alone and not those of their employer or others, unless clearly stated. 