Step 2: Praise and encourage helpful behaviours

People respond well to praise. Every mother that brings her child in for care has done something right, even if it is only to have brought the child to the health facility. Knowing that she is doing something right will motivate the mother to keep on doing it. The mother will also feel that you show respect for her, and she will be more likely to listen to your advice about things she could do better.

Sometimes only part of what the mother is doing is correct. In that case, you should try to praise that part. For example, perhaps the mother offers food to her child, but does not mash it first. You could say, "It is good that you try to get your child to eat while he is ill". Sometimes the mother has not done anything very helpful. In this case, you may just praise her for being concerned about her child.

Listen to the answers a mother gives to your questions, decide what she has done for her child that is helpful, then praise her for doing it, and encourage her to continue.

Exercise

In this exercise you will be given some of the common answers that mothers give when asked about the fluids, food, and medication that they have given to the child. For each case, first decide what the mother has done that is helpful and should be praised. Perhaps the mother has done nothing helpful, in which case you may need to praise some action that is simply not harmful. State the praise you would give, in simple language.

When you have finished, there will be a group discussion of the possible answers to each situation.

In each example the child is about 8 months old and has no signs of dehydration.

Example

The mother says, "My child vomits everything he tries to drink, so I have stopped giving him anything".

What has this mother done that is helpful? What could you say to praise and encourage her?

The mother has given her child liquids to drink. You could say, "It is good that you have been offering your child things to drink".