Tazz asked 06/26/2010:
I get good grades. But my parent’s don’t notice them, the only grades they really care about is if I get really bad on something. It’s like my reward is no news – and they say “no news is good news” but am I just over-reacting?
3 answers
Helen answered:
Teach them something about positive and negative reinforcement. Positive is when something is given to encourage a behavior. Negative is when something is taken away. Positive reinforcement would be praise for your good grades. It encourages the habit to repeat. Negative reinforcement does not need to be confused with something like taking away a phone to make bad behavior cease. It’s more taking away a chore when something good happens.
Teach them what you need. What you need when your grades slip is help, not to feel worse. Tell them. Finally, if you can’t get the praise you need from them, talk to your teachers. Explain it exactly. Maybe they’ll be considerate enough to give you the extra praise you need as well as the help they should already be providing when you slip.