Make It Stick

The new habit feels clumsy at first, because "Good job!" comes out before you think. So don't overhaul everything at once.

• Pick one moment a day to describe instead of judge.
• Watch first, then narrate what you actually saw them do.
• Let the easy stuff go without a comment.

Give it a couple of weeks and you will hear the shift come back to you — the child starts narrating their own effort, and reaching for the harder thing instead of dodging it.