Want to prevent challenging behavior and promote social, emotional, and relational skills? Replace praise with positive, descriptive, acknowledgment.
What’s that? I’m glad you asked!
Positive, descriptive, acknowledgment explains itself: you acknowledge and describe a child’s positive behavior! The caveat? Leave out any of the praise “labels” such as good job, I like that, you are so smart, you are being good. Nope. None of those. But why?
In this article, Craig Zercher and I outline the practice of positive, descriptive acknowledgment (PDA) and PDA Plus as replacement strategies for praise. If you are looking for ways to connect to your child (interpersonal attunement) as well as help the child build a connection to self (intrapersonal attunement), this article will help you gain an invaluable set of strategies.
PDA and PDA Plus support the development of both the heart and the mind. They provide the child with the experience of being seen. When adults describe children’s positive actions aloud, without labels, they engage the circuitry of the child’s brain and mind that promotes self-understanding. And when children learn to understand their positive qualities, they develop the confidence to activate these skills. As well as learning the value of adaptive behaviors.
Praise does not do these things. Read the article to learn why.
Contact me for training on how to develop the skill of positive, descriptive, acknowledgment. And, visit me on Instagram, Facebook, or You Tube for more articles, videos, podcasts, and conversations about PDA!