Animal Training

I am listening to a book on CD because our NPR station has a dismally low spot mid-morning. (It used to be okay because I'd call KJ when I had to fold laundry, and she's not home then any more, but I digress.) Anyway, I decided to take my entertainment into my own hands and listen to What Shamu Taught me About Life, Love and Marriage by Amy Sutherland. The first bit was unconvincing, but the more I listened the more I decided it was fun and useful. The author spent a year shadowing people who were learning to be dolphin trainers, and the more she heard what they were learning, the more she decided that this would work on her husband. As I listen, I'm thinking, "Yes! And on children! And the young women at church!". Come to think of it, I was required to take psychology classes for my education degree that talked about B.F. Skinner's experiments, but no one gave such great examples of applying his conclusions to exotic animals or to the people around us. It is making me seriously consider my children's behavior as well as my own. What exactly, is the best way to help whining go extinct in a seven year old? How should I get my teenagers to clean their room? (Or is that even a battle I'd like to fight?) And how can I reward my nine year old for not pushing her brother into a tailspin when he has low blood sugar? The things I think I hadn't considered before are how important timing is, how little negative reinforcement works (and just what that is for the animals in my life), and how I often need to slow down and teach behaviors I'd like in stages instead of expecting the whole enchilada right now. The great thing about this is that I see it as working the same way the gospel does: line upon line. Work on controlling yourself and you'll end up making everyone around you a lot happier.