Effective Correction Over Excessive Correction

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Do you feel like you correct your kids a lot? Chances are it’s true.  

What if we moved from excessive correction to effective correction? What if we corrected less but our correction was received better, listened to more, followed more?

Does that sound good to you?  It’s possible.  

Here are some quick tips to make your correction more effective:

1. Slow down. Don’t talk fast. Have a calm spirit as you communicate your correction.  

2. Watch your tone. So often our angry, intense tone shuts down the ears of our kids.  

3. Be sure they understand. Again, without an angry tone, ask them to tell you what they heard. Answer their questions. Ask more questions and be less repetitive.  

4. Tell them you believe in them. Do your best to finish correction with a belief statement.  

What are belief statements?  

“I’m proud of you. I know you’re doing your best.”

“I believe in you, and I want to help.”

“I’m glad we get to work together on this. I love getting to be your dad (or mom).”

You can become more effective by learning how to be more effective. Don’t just keep trying the same methods and expecting different results. Try some of the suggestions above and see over time what is working for you. We think the issue is with our kids, but we have seen parents make such an impact in effective correction by looking to themselves first.