The Cheering Section

One benefit to having a 3.5-year-old is that we now regularly have a cheering section for many things that we do. I guess we didn't read this article soon enough and we've now poisoned the children with the notion that they can't do anything good unless they have reinforcement from us (or something like that, according to the article - oh, what are parents to do?!).

As a result of our telling our children "good job," (especially when they poop or pee on the toilet! - I am not about to stop telling them that just because I don't want to somehow damage their psyche. No, no, I want to positively reinforce that behavior as much as possible...) they will tell us "good job" for doing various things around the house.

"Good job!" I hear when I'm using a screwdriver to put something together. "Good job!" I hear when I'm washing my hands. "Good job!" I hear when I'm putting clothes into the washing machine.

But I'm especially fond of the "Good job!" I hear when I'm using the bathroom. Thank you very much. I'm happy that I have such incredibly impressive toileting skills. :)