I never realize that an ethic theory can throw some lights on good parenting.
There is an ethical theory called consequentialism. That is people judge whether or not something is right by its consequences. This is used to judge past actions. In fact, consequences can be the basis for directing future behavior, especially in young children.
For example, when a 3-year-old uses crying to express his desire for candies, his parent rewards him with it this time. Now he learns the consequence of crying is to see his tiny wish come true. The crying behavior works like magic.
Most of children's behavior might be as simple as that. They learn what to do and what not to do based on the outcome of their immediate past actions. With more actions and behavior in one way comes certain character and personality.
There is an interesting experiment in 1960s in an elementary school classroom. The teacher used games to teach the students about class rules. The kids are divided into small groups and play games for 10 minutes. They will be rewarded with extra playing time if they follow the rules. Otherwise, no game playing.
Another thought, perhaps this good behavior game works on all of us. Initially we all learn to conduct ourselves based on the consequences of our previous actions.
Consequence is very crucial in children's learning and socialization. Parents won't go wrong if they pay more attention to the consequences of their behaviors and words. Keep in mind that actions and words have indelible consequences children, desirable or undesirable.
That's why there is a Chinese saying, 父母是孩子的第一个老师, parents are children's first teachers. Be a wise one.