or maintain access to it. It is highly likely your child will cry or tantrum again in a similar circumstance to get the same need met. The child just learned that by crying/whining, the world will become better. The child will be offered cool rewards for crying/whining, such as staying awake longer and being able to play iPad longer. Moral of this story: The same situation resulted in rewards for both you and your child. Always remember that you will receive the behavior that you reinforce. In some way, shape or form, behavior that is continuing to occur is being rewarded in some manner, by someone, and even can be inadvertently rewarded. Use the ABCs of behavior to help figure out the reasons for the behaviors. And be sure to seek the expertise of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), who is also a Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) in the State of Hawaii. You will find BCBAs in your area by searching the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) registry at BACB.com tantrum, or allowed to remain in the toy store, even though they are not following the rules of holding hands with mom/dad. 3. Escape or Avoidance: People are allowed to escape or avoid a situation they don’t like, such as negative situations, activities, people or items. The escape or avoidance provides relief, so to speak. 4. Sensory/Automatic: People do things because they feel good, like twirling hair, biting nails, clicking a pen or bouncing a knee. This is the only function that does not require another person to allow/provide the consequence to reinforce/reward the behavior. The person can do it alone. So what just happened here is that the parent caved and “escaped” or terminated the crying/tantrum. As a result, you received negative reinforcement or relief for your caving behavior because your child stopped crying. That will, in essence, increase the likelihood that you will “cave” or give in again in the future so that you can get your child to stop crying or throwing tantrums in the moment. This also likely positively reinforced or rewarded a child’s crying/tantrum behavior as it was able to access the item wanted Always remember that you will receive the behavior that you reinforce. 78 HAWAII PARENT March/April 2024
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