Does your child always forget to make the bed when they get up? Does he try to sneak away every time you call him to go to the shower? Does he ignore you when you ask him for something? Is it difficult for you to fulfill his daily obligations? Perhaps the time has come to try the “tree of achievements” technique, a simple and fun resource with which you can reverse child disobedience while stimulating their self-esteem and enhancing responsibility.
What exactly is the achievement tree?
The tree of achievements is an educational technique designed to help children with their daily habits through positive reinforcement. Created by the Murcian psychologist Esther Egea Sánchez, the technique is based on a system of routines through which children are taught to manage their daily lives, assume responsibilities and face new challenges.
The original game, suitable for children from 3 to 10 years old, is made up of a magnetic board that has a tree drawn on one side and a blackboard on the other. In addition, it includes some magnetic apples that have routines and habits of daily life written on them and stickers of animals, stars and gomets.
The achievement tree of child psychologist Esther Egea Sánchez
How does the achievement tree work?
The tree of achievements technique works through the apples, which in turn represent different activities of daily life. At the beginning, the apples are located at the base of the tree and the objective of the game is to get them to the top. The apples must climb the level until they reach the branches. However, the apples can only be moved if the children complete the tasks they represent.
A practical example: when start of the game the apple that represents the action of dressing is only placed at the base of the tree and for each day that the children get dressed without help, the apple will level up until it reaches the top of the tree of achievements . This will mean that the little ones have learned to dress themselves and that they have turned this action into a habit.
To enhance each advance, for each apple that enters the tree of achievements, the children get a star that they can place wherever they want and, to motivate the little ones to maintain that routine over time, after a week, fifteen days or a month, they are given a funny sticker of a little animal to continue decorating the tree environment.
One of the great advantages of this game is that, unlike other educational techniques, The achievement tree works through positive reinforcement, that is, it focuses exclusively on the children’s positive behaviors, not on their mistakes or bad behaviors. In this way, the technique manages to consolidate the positive behaviors of the little ones, downplaying importance and attention to their inappropriate behaviors until they end up becoming extinct.
What are the benefits of using the achievement tree?
The achievement tree is a perfect activity to strengthen communication between parents and children, while stimulating a much more positive family environment. In addition, it is an ideal tool to inculcate certain habits and teach them various daily routines that will enhance their autonomy in the long term.
However, one of its greatest advantages lies precisely in its effect positive about child discipline since by focusing on the positive behaviors of children it helps to maintain them over time, while at the same time stimulating the extinction of negative behaviors. In addition, it is a very effective technique to strengthen children’s self-esteem, because every time children achieve a new achievement they will reinforce their self-confidence.