As parents, you are always working for consent, rewarding the child with appreciation and praise when you get it. Even when you have to remind your child 10 times before he empties and refills the litterbox for the cat he begged you to get and promised to take care of, you sincerely (and without complaining about how many times you had to ask) thank him for getting the job done.

Otherwise, he will likely complain in return, “You never appreciate what I do!” Children are more often correct about this than not. Most parents do not appreciate all the consent they are given.

The only time many parents seem to be aware of consent is when they don't get it. What a costly oversight! Since positive parental responses have so much more shaping power than negative responses, you should be rewarding consent with an expression of appreciation and praise every time you get it.