LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR
It may help to write a list of these different behaviors. Here is a list that a little girl’s
mother made with the help of a village health worker who studied this book.
Child: Celia
Age: 4
POSITIVE BEHAVORS—
ones she now has that
we can build on
• smiles when
praised
• can feed herself
with her fingers
• can put 3 rings
on a page
• undresses herself
• enjoys rough play
• enjoys being bathed
• says 6 words: mama,
dada, bottle, sweets,
pee-pee and NO!
IN-BETWEEN
BEHAVIORS—ones
that have both
good and bad
points.
• plays only a moment
with toys—then
throws them
• says ‘pee-pee’, then
wets her panties
• will not sit still for
a minute—except for
food
NEGATIVE
BEHAVIORS—ones
that prevent
her progress or
disturb the family
• kicks people when
she gets upset
• carries a round a baby
bottle all the time,
and screams when it
is taken away
• spits her food at
others
KEY NEEDS (in order that new skills and behavior can develop)
• sitting down and giving attention for a longer time
• getting rid of the baby bottle to free hands for other things.
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Deciding where to begin
After they listed these behaviors and considered Celia’s key needs, the health worker
helped her mother plan where to begin. He explained that, since we cannot change
everything at the same time, we need to decide what things need to be done first
(choose priorities for action). So we choose the behavior we most want to introduce or
change.
• If we are trying to introduce a new behavior or skill, we need to think of all the
different parts that make up the behavior. Next we plan the separate small steps
that lead to the skill. We encourage the child to advance step by step, making clear
what we expect for each step and consistently giving praise and small rewards.
• To improve an ‘in-between behavior’, we can help the child by working with a skill
she has already developed a little. First we need to think about the various parts of her
behavior that concern us. Then we decide which parts seem helpful and which do
not. We then reward the good behavior and ignore the bad. As the child gradually
improves, we can expect more of her before giving a reward, until the whole improved
behavior is achieved.
• If we are trying to reduce or stop an old behavior we need to do 2 things. First we
note when and where the behavior happens, and what happens before, during,
and afterward. We observe carefully both what the child does and what we
ourselves do. Second, we try to guess what the child gains from her ‘bad’ behavior.
We can then try to change things so that ‘good’ behavior is more worthwhile
than the ‘bad’. To do this we reward the new ‘good’ behavior and refuse to give
attention for her ‘bad’ behavior.
disabled village children