How to train your toddler like a dog

(Jason is appalled at the title of this post)

Dogs get treats when they obey, so why can't kids?  Truth be told, this was my last ditch effort to try to teach Jason to stop climbing the stairs and to willfully (on his own and at my first request) come back down to safety. I gave my potty training kids an M&M when they'd go potty, so why not bribe Jason with a treat to avoid a potential injury?

And so I created the perfect solution: GOOD BOY CHOCOLATES. 

You might call them chocolate chips, but Jason affectionately recognizes them as his "boe-boe cha-chit."

This all started a few months ago, when Jason was hearing, "no" constantly.  Multiple times every hour, all day long.  Often as he purposely went from one area of the house to another, testing to see if the DVD player, phone, dishwasher buttons and glass lids for the pots and pans were still considered to be a "no" to this exasperated mama.

So I was annoyed when he discovered that he could climb up the stairs, but couldn't yet properly climb down.  As an added bonus, he would often try to turn around and sit mid-stair, only to tumble down to the tile. 

The first time I convinced him to make his way down the stairs, I bribed him with a chocolate. And it worked.  But instead of giving him a chocolate chip every time he listened and obeyed, I rewarded him sporadically. 

This might seem a bit mean, but I remember reading about a series of studies in college, where the group of animals who were rewarded every time eventually became bored of the treat and stopped complying as often.  But the animals who never knew which time they would get a treat, they obeyed consistently. 

Think about gambling: People are willing to spend tons of money on the off-chance that they might hit the jackpot.  They might win a little money one out of every five times or ten times, but they just keep trying in hopes that they'll win something this next time. 

It's the same basic principle as this concept. 

So judge me if you'd like, but I'm proud of the fact that bribing my child with chocolate chips has taught him to listen and obey the first time.  Not only with the stairs, but in a variety of other frustrations around the house. 

I began rewarding him every time, then backed off and only gave him a treat if he immediately complied, now his treats are very intermittent...sometimes only one per day.  And he still loves and appreciates each reward, instead of having a sense of entitlement that he deserves something every time he does what he's told.

Long live the Good Boy Chocolates!