Eyberg (1988) provides some guidelines for parents to teach parents when giving direct commands. First, the commands should be stated positively and should tell the child what to do, rather than what not to do. For example, “Put your hands in your lap” should be used instead of “Stop grabbing the toys”. Secondly, the command should be one that is age-appropriate for the child. For example, telling a 2-year-old “Tie your shoe” would be considered not age-appropriate. Lastly, the command should require only one behavior at a time. This way, children need not remember long strings of orders in a single command.