If you're in charge of a toddler for any period of time, read this. It's a suggestion that came from Dr. Becky Bailey, creator of the world-renowned Conscious Discipline program. She shared this at the close of a national early childhood conference that was so well-attended that every seat was taken, and at least 50 people were sitting on the floor, including me. What she said profoundly affected the way I think about early childhood care and education. This is it:

To improve the behavior of almost any child (or adult), notice what they do right and call it out, saying:

Like this:

• You came over when I called you, Priya. That was helpful!

• You got on the riding toy by yourself, Howard. That was helpful!

• You smiled at me, Sheldon. That was helpful!

• You remembered the ball, Janine. That was helpful!

• Raj, you waited for Bernadette. That was helpful!

• Stuart, you took turns with Penny. That was helpful!

• You picked up my pencils, Tam. That was helpful.

• You said something nice to Leonard, Beverly. That was helpful!

If you think this won't work with your child, because you already give them enough praise and attention, or it's just too simplistic, I challenge you to try it and come back here to let me know what happened in the comments below.

If you need more words that work with very young children, you can get 22 more phrases here, for free.

Nanci J Bradley is an early childhood and family educator, author, teacher, family aerobics instructor, and all-around fun-loving person. She believes in the power of sleep, healthy eating, lifelong learning, and most of all, PLAY!  She studied early childhood ed at Triton College and received her BS in education in 1986 from NIU. She received her MA in human dev from Pacific Oaks College in 2011. She lives and teaches in Madison, WI, and is the founder of Early Childhood Rocks, a non-profit org dedicated to creating change through early childhood education.