How NOT to train a child

The ear-splitting shrieks caught my attention as I glanced over at the table where a young family was eating dinner in the restaurant.  I watched the interaction between the father and the toddler (surreptitiously, of course) and wondered if the dad realized what he was doing.  The little guy was drinking from a sippy cup and the dad grabbed the cup and took it away from him.  The result was instant (and loud!) prolonged shrieking.  After a minute or so, the dad gave the cup back to his son.  The son quieted down until dear old dad did the same thing, over and over again.  The little boy wasn't laughing - he was mad!  He wanted his cup!

The dad thought it was great fun making his little boy scream and shriek but what he was really doing was teaching his son that if you want something, all you have to do is scream and you'll get it.  Is this what he REALLY wants to teach?

Usually as parents we want to reinforce GOOD behavior and not bad.  All I can say is good luck to this clueless dad!