How to Use Consequences Effectively with Kids
Using consequences effectively with kids will help with behavior change, right? Well not necessarily. Consequences has a negative connotation. Most of the time when we hear the word consequences, we think punishment. However, consequences are simply the events that occur after a behavior has occurred. Consequences can be positive or negative. When you do well on a task and are recognized for accomplishments, that can be a positive consequence. When we forget to set our alarm and arrive late to a meeting, that can be a negative consequence. Notice the words “can be.” It really depends on the person and if whatever occurs after the behavior is positive or negative.
If you want to know how to use consequences effectively with kids, focus on teaching a skill as part of the consequence. This can be a different way of thinking than we are used to. Again, most of the time when we hear consequence, we think punishment.
In this episode I talk about natural and logical consequences. Natural consequences are outcomes that occur without any adult mediation. Logical consequences match the behavior and are adult mediated. We rarely have control over natural consequences. For example, if a student runs on a wet playground and they slip and fall, that is a natural consequence. A logical consequence would be adult mediated and match the behavior. For example, we may have the student walk on the playground during recess and a logical consequence.
We do not have control over natural consequences most of the time, but we do have control over logical consequences. In order to determine logical consequences and have a plan for when behaviors occur, write down five behaviors that occur in your classroom on a regular basis. Now, I want you to think about a logical outcome to that behavior that matches the behavior. Then I want you to identify a skill that the student might be missing which prevents them from engaging in the appropriate behavior frequently. Again, we really want to focus on skill building when determining logical consequences.
We can certainly have outcomes to behavior that are outside of skill building. For example, if a student calls another student a name, an appropriate logical consequence would be for them to apologize. But we can also add some skill building. If we notice this is a pattern of their behavior, we might want to build social thinking skills with the student so they have other ways of interacting with students that are more appropriate for the school setting and promote a collaborative and kind classroom environment.
Throughout this episode I walk you through how to use consequences effectively with kids. Specifically, we talk about using logical consequences to best build the skills of our students and maximize behavior change. We all want the same goal, for our students to be successful. The sooner we move away from the idea that behavior needs to have “consequences” meaning punishment, the sooner we can start maximizing the success of our student.
