There are hundreds of day-to-day life situations where positive reinforcements are used. A boy gets a candy after helping someone, a baby takes his first steps and everybody claps, a student gets a star on his hand after nicely doing his worksheet, a girl gets a hug from her grandpa after picking up his cane, an employee gets a bonus for extra work hours, a customer gets a soap-free when he buys two, a soldier receives feedback by his sergeant upon successfully completing the task, a child with special needs receives a cookie and a high-5 with a big smile from his teacher when he successfully completes stacking a tower, etc. There so many more such examples where either we use them, not even knowingly; and we are also being used these techniques upon (e.g. in the example of the customer). 

In all the above examples, one link is common. Something happens or something is done and after that (or as a result of that) a positive, enjoyable entity is added. This “added...

Have you ever worried, felt nervous or experienced uneasiness?

These are feelings of anxiety and are normal responses when we are faced with important life event or during a difficult situation e.g. getting married or giving birth or going for a procedure. It can also happen to our children as well e.g. going for exams.  

While we adults may be able to identify, express and calm our anxiety, our children may not be able to do that. So, how can we help our children when they are feeling anxious?

Firstly, we need to be able to identify what are the tell-tale signs that our child is experiencing feelings of anxiety.

Here are some tell-tale signs of anxiety in a child that you can look out for:  

Starts to be clingy

Very prone to getting cranky or irritable

Gets awakened by bad dreams in the middle of the night

Feeling tensed up and often fidgety

Avoid daily activities, such as attending schools or socialising with friends

Secondly, how can we help our child to calm those...