How do you put responsive discipline into action when a child misbehaves?
❖ JOURNAL 15: Putting a strategy into action
Let's say you have a three-year-old son whose name is Jamie. Cindy (who is also three years old) is visiting one Sunday afternoon. The following incident occurs:
Jamie and are playing quietly with Jamie's stuffed animals in the living room. You are in the kitchen reading the newspaper. Suddenly, Jamie begins to scream, Give me Teddy... give me Teddy! There is a moment of silence... you hear Cindy make an outburst of crying. You jump up and when you arrive you see Jamie clutching his favorite teddy bear. Cindy sits nearby sobbing uncontrollably. Bright red and purple teeth marks are visible on her arm.
So what do you do? Describe how you would respond. Let’s take a look at a four-step strategy based on the acronym
S-O-U-L.
Stop!
Observe
Understand
Love (apply knowledge)
The strategy describes a way to think through a response to misbehavior rather than specifying a specific response.
Next: 1. Stop!