Proximal Praise

Proximal praise is a strategy that we use a lot at school!  If there is a student that is not following a certain school rule, we simply praise a student that is.  Most of the time when the student not complying hears another student get attention for complying they will follow the rule in order to get attention as well.  For example, if a class is lining up but Student A is still at the table refusing to line up a teacher might say to Student B: “Student B, I like how you are standing in line ready to walk in the hallway.”  Then Student A will get in line.  If you have multiple children at home, this can be a useful tool to use.  If one of your children is cleaning up the toys and the other one is not, praise the child that is following the direction instead of correcting the child that is not listening.  If mealtime is a struggle and one child is eating their food but another child is not, praise the child that is eating the vegetables or meat instead of telling the other child to eat their food.  Children like praise and when they see that they get more of your attention for following directions or doing what you asked, then they will be more likely to do what you want them to do.  Give it a try and see if it works for you.