Do you know what exactly the sandwich technique is , so acclaimed by so many psychologists around the world? It is very simple: it consists of saying something that is negative in a way that generates a positive and changing attitude in the child . That is to say: getting our son to want to change a behavior.
Maybe you want or need your child to change a behavior or attitude. Instead of yelling, scolding, or even punishing them, go for this simple technique first. We explain how to change a child’s behavior with the sandwich technique.
Index
- Steps to change a child’s behavior with the sandwich technique
- What do we get with the sandwich technique in our son
Steps to change a child’s behavior with the sandwich technique
If you think that your child should change or improve a behavior … how to achieve it in a way that does not impact him so much? Using this technique: the sandwich technique.
We all know that when we are going to say something negative to someone, they quickly become defensive or on the alert . The sandwich technique makes this dampened, being the person we talk to most receptive . The sandwich technique is itself a metaphor. The sandwich consists of bread, sausage and bread. In our case, we use it to refer to the following:
– ‘Positive part or reinforcement – negative part or susceptible to change – positive part or reinforcement’.
According to this technique, we should always follow this order when telling our child something we want him to change or improve.
What do we get with the sandwich technique in our son
With this system we achieve two things:
- When we go to talk to someone and we start with something positive, they will always be more receptive to the next message.
- Thanks to this technique, it will not hurt to have to ‘scold’ your child,because it is not in itself a ‘scolding’, but a request to change a behavior.
In the end, your child will be able to understand the negative message you have sent him, but by being cushioned between two positive reinforcements, he will remain calm and want to improve even more.
It is best to propose an example to understand it. Imagine that your son has not cleaned his room. Instead of punishing or yelling at him, you would use this system in the following way:
– ‘Son, I’m very happy with the attitude you’re having at home … even if you haven’t cleaned up the room today … I hope you continue to have a collaborative attitude in the family.’
In this way, your child will have understood that you are happy when he collaborates at home because he has not cleaned up the room and this is something that should improve.
