🤍Negative reinforcement is more common than you think…in fact, parents do it quite often.
🤍And, it’s not a bad thing, nor is positive punishment. Confused?
🤷🏼♀️Most people are by these terms!
🫶🏼Hi, I’m Melanie, and I help parents raise healthy, happy eaters. Let’s break down what “negative” and “positive” refer to – it’s all about MATH. Here’s just one example, and there are more in the reel for you to screenshot.
👏🏼Let’s start with “YAYYYY!”
👏🏼👍🏼Seems like a positive thing, right? Clapping and saying “YAYYYY!” for your child? If it is, then when you ADD IN THE YAY, you are using positive reinforcement because you ADDED IT and it reinforced the behavior, making it more likely to occur again.
👏🏼👎🏼BUT, what if you’re kid hates loud attention like that, and I clap and loudly exclaim “YAYYYY, you did it!”…that’s actually positive punishment. I ADDED IN something they don’t like, making the behavior less likely to occur.
🤔So, “YAY!” can be a reinforcer or a punishment, but either way, when you ADD IT IN, it’s going to be called “positive” punishment or “positive” reinforcement - it’s about ADDITION. The term positive has very little to do with emotion and everything to do with addition vs. subtraction.
📸I hope you’ll screenshot where prompted in this reel…then… let it digest. Then drop your questions in the comments – I’m here to help!
🥰Melanie
#pickyeaters #feedingtherapy #parenting #parentingtoddlers #parentingpreschoolers #myfirstkid