Talk about annoying, not to mention the extra work he’s making for you. You can react in one of two ways. You can scold him for throwing clean silverware on the floor and making a mess. Or you can thank him for helping you unload the dishwasher and show him which drawer to put the silverware in instead of on the floor. Though it may be a bit more time-consuming, I suggest the latter response.

Any time you can put a positive spin on something your child does, as long as he’s not deliberately doing something wrong, then do it. When in doubt, always assume your child is trying to be helpful, kind, or good. It will teach him to help and he’ll learn valuable life skills, which in turn will raise his self-esteem. Not only that, he likely will want to keep doing things to please you. What’s not to like about that?

So the next time your child pulls out every DVD on the shelf, opens each one and lays them all on the floor, thank him for his help in matching all the DVDs to their correct cases. Then work together to pick them up. It becomes a fun matching game instead of a battle of wills to clean up the mess.

There’s an interesting by-product of assuming the best about your child. It affects the way you see him, too.

It is so easy to notice the things a child does wrong. After a while, it’s hard to see what he does right. But if you make a habit of seeing the good things he does, pretty soon, the wrong he does doesn’t seem so overwhelming. The whole parenting world seems a little less hopeless and daunting. You find delight in raising this amazing child!

So train your eyes to put a positive spin on your child’s behavior. He’ll be happier and so will you.

Have you tried this? What effect did it have on you and/or your child?