Positive Reinforcement for Mom

Mother’s Day is coming- a grand holiday to celebrate my people. The MOMS! Moms totally deserve all the flowers, brunch, jewelry, fancy handbags (thank you sweet hubby!), homemade artwork, etc.

But Moms deserve this EVERY day! Not just on the first Sunday of May. Is that right? 

Anway- Moms, you need to find some positive reinforcement for yourselves those other 364 days a year. Find some things to strengthen your mothering behaviors. What will reward your good work? 

In a perfect world, your children would always say “thank you” and your husband would walk in the door each evening complimenting the state of your home, the meal you’ve somehow gotten ready, and how fantastic your children are doing.  In the real world, we need to learn to self-reinforce and to put ourselves in a position to receive positive reinforcement from other sources.

Here are some ideas from my Stay at Home Mom existence:

• Give yourself a reward for every xx minutes of housework you engage in. If I clean for 45 minutes total, I can sit and watch an episode of Veronica Mars on amazon.
•   If I fold and put all the laundry away, I can have a Diet Coke.
• If I finish my morning to-do list, I sit and watch TV til the baby wakes up from her nap.

What do you do to reward yourself? What are you hoping to get from those around you this Mother’s Day to help reinforce that awesome Mommy behavior of yours? 

I have a whole chapter devoted to this topic in Parenting with Science: Behavior Analysis Saves Mom’s Sanity. Check it out!