Saturday, November 22, 2008

Natural and Logical Consequences

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Natural Consequences
Certain behaviors can be perpetuated when adults step in to rescue children from the natural consequences that might ensue. For example, a natural consequence of forgetting to wear a jacket on a chilly day is that you will feel cold. Constant reminders from parents can keep a child from having to experience a natural consequence. Sometimes parents even go out of their way to rescue children (for example, bringing his/her jacket to school.) However, rescuing children from consequences also keeps them from learning valuable lessons.

Natural consequences are excellent teaching tools, but there are times when it is not appropriate and/or effective to use them:
1. When a child is in danger (ex: allowing a child to experience the natural consequence of playing with matches)
2. When natural consequences interfere with the rights of others (ex: destroying property)
3. When the results of children’s behavior do not seem like a problem to them (ex: the natural consequences of not brushing one’s teeth may not hold any meaning for a child)

Logical Consequences
Logical consequences should be formulated by the adult - with input from the child - before the actual behavior occurs, so that the child knows what to expect, and will not feel that the consequence is unjust. The three R’s of logical consequences are:
1. Related to the behavior (ex: if a child writes on the table, she will be expected to clean the table.)
2. Respectful - the child should not experience blame, shame, or pain as a result of the consequence, but a sense of responsibility for his/her actions
3. Reasonable - the child and the adult have agreed beforehand that the consequence is appropriate and will not create resentment between the child and the adult.

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