
- It is important to follow through with instructions. Therefore, you should only issue instructions that you can reinforce upon compliance or provide a consequence should your child not follow through.
- Avoid giving too many instructions over a short period. Issuing instructions in that way can be unduly aggravating, and actually reduce the likelihood of compliance.
- If your child can answer choice questions, then you can give him/her options that are preferred. For example, “Do you want to play with the iPad or your toy cars?”
- The strategy of providing choices can also be applied to less preferred activities. For example, “Do you want to finish this worksheet or do you want to change clothes?”
- If your child does not respond to or complete an instruction, you should stay calm and not stray from a neutral tone.
- Before issuing an instruction to which your child is less likely to follow, provide preferred instructions immediately before and after the less preferred instructions.
- You can capture moments when a child is likely to perform a task on their own, and issue that instruction right before they do the task. For example, if a child is walking past a toy to pick it up, then you can say, “Pick up that toy” just before they pick up the item.
- Present instructions with confidence, as if you expect your child will listen.
- It is okay to give your child some things to control.
- When your child is compliant, provide meaningful reinforcement to him.