A familiar saying tells us that actions have consequences. Sometimes those consequences can result in hurt feelings or frustration for the individuals involved. Teaching your child how to accept the consequences of their actions with grace and honesty can be a challenge.
Start by explaining that mistakes happen to everyone. At some point, you have made a mistake, and it’s more than likely that your child will make mistakes. It’s part of being human! Learning from those mistakes and owning up to your part in it is an important part of helping to prevent it from happening again in the future.
Explain to your child or student that when a mistake is made, such as them forgetting to empty the dishwasher when they were asked to do so, there is a consequence as a result. In this example, maybe the result is that you are upset that they didn’t do what they were asked. Perhaps you take away their TV privileges until the dishes are put away; this would be a consequence.
We’ve compiled three basic steps your child or student should take in order to accept the consequences when they’ve made a mistake:
- Look the person in the eye when they are explaining the issue and what will happen as a result.
- Stay calm. Arguing about the consequences will not make it any better and can often lead to an escalation, resulting in further or more severe consequences.
- Accept responsibility for your actions and how they have impacted others.
Through gentle reminders of these three steps, you can encourage your child and help them learn to accept consequences. Check out the additional social skills resources below to reinforce these lessons!
The special education social skills resource for children accepting the consequences were authored by Watson Institute’s special education consultant, Andee Morris, M.Ed.
Power Point Presentations:
I Can Accept Consequences PowerPoint
I Can Accept Consequences Facilitator’s Guide
Resource Materials:
I Can Accept Consequences Outline
I Can Accept Consequences Magnet Cards
This week I might try to accept consequences Homework
I Can Accept Consequences Parent Note
I Can Accept Consequences Mini Schedule
I Can Accept Consequences Activity
I Can Accept Consequences Teacher Note
Pre/Post Assessment
A pre and post lesson assessment is included in each lesson. Use of the assessment is an instructor preference. Many of the ‘homework’ pages for a lesson can be used as a pre/post assessment device alone or as part of the provided assessment. Each homework page can be checked by the instructor as well as the student.
Review all included pages of the lesson to determine what ‘assessment’ method will meet your needs. If the student is able to achieve a + in the majority of items of the pre-assessment, or if the student has been observed to display the skill topic of the lesson often, then the lesson may not be introduced or can be taught with a group as review and/or reinforcement.
I Can Accept Consequences Pre/Post Assessment
If you have questions or concerns about the Watson Institute’s use of this information, please contact us.