Tootling Instead of Tattling?

I learned a new word recently!

I’m sure you’ve all heard about tattling and tattletaling, but have you ever heard of tootling!?

I sure hadn’t, but it’s pretty brilliant!

Just in case you haven’t heard of tattling, that’s when a child “tells on” another child – or basically, reports to a teacher or adult about another child’s poor behaviour.

Tootling is similar, but instead of reporting on the “bad” behaviour of others, children are encouraged to report to teachers and parents about their peers’ “good” behaviours! The term “Tootle” came from merging the words Tattling and the saying “Toot your own horn”!

This has been a strategy used in schools for a couple of decades, and here’s how it works:

Step 1

Decide on what you want Tootling in your house to look like

• Is there something specific you want them to Tootle about? Or do you just want them to Tootle on each other for all good choices and appropriate behavior? Some examples of things you might encourage them to Tootle about: getting chores done, being helpful, complimenting and encouraging each other, etc.

• How do you want them to Tootle? Should they go up to a parent/adult and tell them right away? Should there be a daily meeting where everyone tootles on what they saw that day? Should they write it down and submit it anonymously in a box that’s reviewed every day?

• Do you want to combine it with a reinforcement system (this is probably a good idea at first – otherwise it may go well for a short honeymoon period, and then fade away)? If yes, are you going to set something up for daily rewards, weekly rewards, etc.? For example, if the kids do x # of tootles in a day they get 10 extra screen time minutes; or if the kids do x number of tootles in a week, they get a special outing? Or a special meal?

Feel free to include your kids in this discussion! Let them have some choice and say in how the system will work.

Step 2

Teach your child/children about Tootling!

• What does Tootling mean?

• What are some examples of things that they can Tootle on?

• Who do they Tootle about?

• Who do they Tootle to?

Step 3

Try it out!

• Keep track, see if you notice any changes. Stick with it if it doesn’t work right away, give it a fair chance – it may take time to build it into your family routines.

• If you notice it starts out working really well, but that it starts to fade as days and weeks go on, find new ways to make it motivating! Have a booster chat with the kids about it to see if they have any ideas to make it more fun and to keep it up!

WAIT – I have an only child, is there some way I can try Tootling?

Yes!

Here are some suggestions to adapt it to a single-child home:

• If your child is young enough, encourage him/her/them to Tootle on their toys (e.g., stuffies, dolls, etc.), and when you notice appropriate behavior, pretend that the child’s toys have Tootled on them about it to you!

• If your child is school-aged, try encouraging them to Tootle to you every day after school about other kids. This may not directly improve their prosocial behavior, but it might increase their awareness of others’ appropriate behavior that they can imitate! You could even try pitching the idea to the teacher to see if it’s something that could be done in your child’s classroom (show the teacher some of the below nerdy resources).

• If you have more than one adult/caregiver/parent in the house, assign a Tootle Teacher each day that the others Tootle to; or Tootle on each other using tickets that you write on so that the amount of total Tootles is a surprise at the end of the day/week.

• When you host playdates and parties, present the Tootling rules and try to have a prize that could be earned during that gathering for a certain number of Tootles!

Try it out, Tootle on each other! And let me know how it goes!

You got this!

Some Nerdy Resources:

• Increasing Tootling: The Effects of a Peer-Monitored Group Contingency Program on Students’ Reports of Peers’ Prosocial Behaviors by Christopher Skinner, Tammy Cashwell, and Amy Skinner

• Effects of Classwide Positive Peer “Tootling” to Reduce the Disruptive Classroom Behaviors of Elementary Students with and without Disabilities by David Cihak, Emily Kirk, and Richard Boon

• Effects of Tootling on Classwide Disruptive and Appropriate Behavior of Upper-Elementary Students by Abigail Lambert, Daniel Tingstrom, Heather Sterling, Brad Dufrene, and Shauna Lynne