Achievement numbers two and three go together, and are owned by the twins! Sienna and Oliver received gold medals (the plastic kind) today for blowing their noses on their own! A big achievement!! They have been wearing their medals with pride today and I am sure I will be seeing them around their necks for days to come.
I have found great success in using reward systems with my kids. We have had many a star chart on our fridge over the years. Stars for going to the toilet, stars for cleaning bedrooms, stars for making beds, stars for not getting into trouble at school. Stars for not fighting with each other.
I know the stars are not that exciting on their own, its what they represent that makes my kids want to do better, and be better. Being recognised is something we all thrive on. Imagine if every time we did something amazing, a group of people we loved and depended on were right there to acknowledge our efforts and praise us.
I think sometimes as we get older we hold back praise because we think that somehow by complimenting someone we lose a little of our own worth in the process. It is actually quite the opposite, the more praise we give to those around us, the better we feel about ourselves.
Praise, compliments, encouragement and positive reinforcement are all ways we can express love and that is something you can never have too much of. Our achievements can be endless when we have support from people we love, and we can help people around us achieve great things by the things we say to them, with or without a star chart!!
