Raising a child is very often a constant test of the parents’ patience. Promoting the proper management of feelings, emotional control and appropriate behaviors is a great challenge. And to achieve this, there are certain childish behaviors that should not be overlooked. But how to react to this? Traditionally, scolding and punishment have been used, but this does not always bring positive results. That is why there are other alternatives such as the sandwich technique.
To correct or modify inappropriate behavior in children, it is advisable to opt for assertiveness. Psychologist Jennifer Delgado acknowledges that this is not an easy task, in fact, it will take a lot of patience and perseverance to achieve it. And for this, one of the methods that can be used to eliminate these bad behaviors is the sandwich technique. A measure that is recommended for children over 5 years of age and that is especially effective for the most rebellious.
The sandwich technique represents one of the most effective tools within assertive communication. In fact, it can also be used with adults. This method consists of making constructive criticism to achieve a positive change. To achieve this, you have to undertake three different steps that would correspond to the layers of a sandwich, which is why it adopts this name.
The first thing will be to give the child a compliment, some kind of recognition that serves as reinforcement for the next step. This consists of introducing the criticism or the request for change, which is the final objective. And, as a third layer, gratitude is expressed or a compliment is transmitted to the child. Thus, two positive messages are achieved, which start and close the dialogue, and a negative one that softens. In this way, the child will avoid reacting, for example, through disgust or anger, and the probability that she assumes and accepts that request is increased.
The most advisable thing is to use the sandwich technique after the child has carried out the behavior that you want to reverse. However, it is important to identify the mood of the little one. This is because if he is too excited, it may not be effective. In this case, it is advisable to wait for it to calm down.
In addition, the psychologist warns that this technique should not be abused to avoid reducing its effectiveness. It could even cause the child to assume praise as “the prelude to criticism.” So that it would end up being something even counterproductive, since it would be a reason for the minor’s loss of confidence towards her parent.
