Shopping With The Police

Yesterday in our troubled teen blog, I told you about an early intervention program available to many elementary schools. Although programs like that can be wonderful, there can also be a flip side to it if we’re not careful. When my second grader heard about this and found out that the two kids picked were his two friends and they got a $100 gift card, plus got to play with the police car, he was very confused and upset. He couldn’t understand why these naughty friends, who are always making trouble and getting called down to the principles office all the time, were being rewarded for bad behavior. He even used many of those exact words when expressing his confusion. It surprised me that at such a young age, my son could interpret this program that way. (He had a good point though.)

Contd..

I could see the wheels in my sons head turning when his dad said “now don’t you get any ideas”. I have to wonder how many other kids think they have to be bad to get to have a fun experience like that. It was very interesting trying to explain to my son that they weren’t getting “rewarded” and why this program is important intervention for those two friends. This experience made me realize we need to be careful we’re not rewarding our kids for bad behavior and be especially conscious in rewarding (praising) our kids for their good behavior from the time they are knee high to a grasshopper. It will make a difference come the teenage years. November 3rd, 2007 by Angie Driskill