What Nature and Logic Can Teach Us (Natural and Logical Consequences)

As parents we always want to see our children succeed and be happy. As a result, we tend to push them to do their best and protect them from hurt and failure. When we intervene, we can inadvertently impact the lessons that nature and logic provide. 

Natural Vs Logical

​Natural and logical consequences are great teachers, they foster our growth and build our resiliency.

​Natural consequences are the result of a child’s actions and choices:
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• A decision is made to cut in line, their peers may get    mad at them.  
• They choose to not wear gloves when it is cold outside,  they will be uncomfortable with cold hands.

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It is important for parents to ensure the safety and well-being of children when using natural consequences as we don’t want them to become damaging.
 

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Logical consequences are the result of a child’s actions but are imposed by the parent or caregiver. Examples could be:

• A child keeps bouncing a ball after being asked to stop, the parent/teacher takes the ball away.
• The child doesn’t stop playing the video game when their time has ended, they will lose the privilege to play video games for a certain amount of time. 

Keep the Consequence Relative

Consequences are most effective when they are closely associated to the behaviour.  We don’t want to take away their favorite tv show because they threw water over their sibling as there is no easy association between the behavior and the consequence.  Associated consequences give them a chance to learn what happens when they behave inappropriately.  Additionally, it separates the child from what they did, and does not shame or punish the child. 
 
Further, when done in a calm manner it provides children with the opportunity to learn to be responsible and accountable for their own behaviour.  

Rules and Expectations

For the most effective impact, parents need to follow some simple guidelines –

1. Think ahead and come up with the consequences that are suitable to the situation.
2. Allow the child to experience the consequence by resisting the urge to save them, and
3. Maintain consistency in implementing consequences, rules and expectations. 

Author - Leslie Sugden