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Pedants' corner

'Good stopping' 'nice walking'

42 replies

princessx · 23/02/2013 15:33

Am I the only one to shudder when I hear this new way of praising children? It's not grammatically correct is it?

Should you really say: 'well done, you stopped at the appropriate place.'?

Any thoughts?

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Grockle · 23/02/2013 15:39

How many small children would stop & listen to 'well done, you stopped at the appropriate place.'?

I work with children with severe communication problems... they are much like big toddlers. We use key words & brief phrases... if you say 'Good boy,' it is meaningless -they don't necessarily know what they did to make them a good boy.

If you say, 'Good stopping,' then they know they have stopped & that was what was asked. So, next time you say 'stop' they should remember what to do.

I am pedantic about lots of things but this doesn't bother me. I think it is important to be specific.

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PrinceRogersNelson · 23/02/2013 15:44

Seriously?

I quite like pedants corner, but this is a bit ridiculous.

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princessx · 23/02/2013 15:45

What about: 'well done - you stopped'?

I agree though, best to help the child

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Grockle · 23/02/2013 15:59

Because 'well done' doesn't mean anything. If they stopped when you asked then they did good stopping surely? Like good listening and good sitting... it's about being positive, isn't it?

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insancerre · 23/02/2013 16:04

I agree with grockle- I also work with children and am a pedant too. But always use 'good walking' 'good sharing', 'good listening' etc.
I am talking to children after all.

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EstherRancid · 23/02/2013 16:06

because when you have a child with the sort of issues as DD, too many words cause more problems?

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Pagwatch · 23/02/2013 16:08

Can I just say - without wanting to divert your point about children in general - I have to use this with ds as he as little functional language and, whilst it sounds awful, it makes sense to him as it is logical. It echos how he uses the few words he understands.

I also have to deliver the praise with a thumbs up so I feel even more of a twat [sigh]

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EstherRancid · 23/02/2013 16:10

Grin

Pag we use the thumbs up too, i feel like Rolf Harris in the old '70s swimming ads

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Grockle · 23/02/2013 16:11

Pag, don't feel like a twat! I often sign 'thank you' to cars that stop and let me cross the road. I forget that not everybody knows wtf I am doing. My friend thought I was blowing a kiss Blush

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Pagwatch · 23/02/2013 16:13

Hahaha at Rolf Harris.

It's just awful isn't it. I spend half my time thinking 'shoot me now'.

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Pagwatch · 23/02/2013 16:14

You are brave Grockle - car drivers and hand gestures is a recipe for disaster Grin

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ShatnersBassoon · 23/02/2013 16:25

Necessity compels. Clarity is often more important than grammatical correctness.

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MrsShrek3 · 23/02/2013 16:29

It's not new, we've been doing it in SEN specific educational settings for 20 years. "good listening", ""good waiting" etc are not actually incorrect in their construction, and communicates clearly to children/young people who have 1 or 2 ICW understanding.

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BackforGood · 23/02/2013 16:49

What Grockle said. It's developed from SULP groups and other similar things which were developed to use with children with communication difficulties, and often learning difficulties. You have to use as few words as is necessary to get your meaning acorss, and you have to be very specific with your instruction/request /praise.

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Grockle · 23/02/2013 16:51

Grin

It's not bravery so much as an automatic reaction! I am sure people see me signing randomly & think I am the one with special needs. No-one ever tells me 'good listening' etc though Sad

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ByTheWay1 · 23/02/2013 16:52

Why would "nice walking" not be correct - they are walking nicely, their walking is nice..... nobody is claiming it to be a complete sentence - merely an exclamation.... like "Good question..."

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Grockle · 23/02/2013 16:55


I'm off to do some good sitting.
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princessx · 23/02/2013 22:00

Thanks for your responses. I knew it was recommended for children now, and it sounds like it's been properly researched to help learning. And I wasn't suggesting people shouldn't use it, I just wondered if it was actually grammatically correct. Thinking about it some more I don't think it is correct, I think we say you're good at listening / walking / dancing etc.

I'm not saying people should change what they say to children, I was just trying to work out what was wrong with it.

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MrsShrek3 · 23/02/2013 22:06

sigh. princessx take a look at gerund and construction, and then figure out if it's "wrong".

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Goodwordguide · 23/02/2013 22:08

Why is it not grammatically correct? 'Walking' is a gerund there and 'good' is the adjective - it's a simple statement but it is complete. 'You're good at walking' is adding a subject but why is it 'better' grammar? What do you think is wrong with 'Good walking'. (Don't mean to sound at all narky, I'm genuinely intrigued).

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Goodwordguide · 23/02/2013 22:08

X-post MrsShrek!

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MrsShrek3 · 23/02/2013 22:09

pmsl, same point too Grin
proper pedants sign in Wink

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Lollydaydream · 23/02/2013 22:10

No-one ever tells me 'good listening' etc though
My dd1 is older now but 'good listening' etc (with obligatory thumbs up) is ingrained in my speech with her and dd2. Now dd1's speech is better I get told 'you're not doing good listening mummy' if I get what she's saying wrong.

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tigerdriverII · 23/02/2013 22:12

Besides being appropriate in the situations described it is grammatically correct. "Sitting" is a noun in this sense, so "good sitting" is absolutely fine. I think if you studied Latin you might find we are talking about the ablative absolute. We don't have that in English, but this construct works.

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Grockle · 23/02/2013 22:17
Grin
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