My son (3) came to me this morning and held out his hand with a few candies in it and a smile on his face from ear to ear. He exclaimed “Daddy, I got candy cause I was good.” Before I gave much thought to it, I immediately returned “You got candy because mom is good, not you.” Is rewarding for good behaviour a bad thing? We have all done it, myself included. But I believe there’s a better way. A reward is given when proper action is taken, but not necessarily expected. More importantly, a reward is dependant on the giver, not the receiver. If you receive a benefit for something good you have done, it is dependent on your efforts and...

There needs to be a show called “The Child Whisperer” in which people take their rebellious children to a counselor for advice. The show would work much the same as “The Dog Whisperer”. If you have ever watched the show (I have not, but I have heard about it) the story goes that the dog trainer often points blame at the owner for the way that the dog behaves. There is a parallel here… Much is the same when you see a child throw a temper tantrum. The parent has let the child get away with it in the past. The child will only do what they can get away with. Yes, they will try you to push the boundaries from time...