Do you have one of these children in your home? The child who, when you ask him to do something, finds everything else interesting on the way?
I just love my 4-year-old, Jackson. He is smart. He is funny. He is kind. But this boy is S-L-O-W to get anything done. Part of this is that he gets very easily distracted. But recently, he has discovered that he can buy himself time if he pretends he doesn't hear me or flat out ignores me until I MAKE him do what I asked. When I finally do get him to acknowledge that I have asked him to say, pick up his toys in the playroom, he'll appease me by picking up a toy or two until I stop focusing on him and move on to my next task, and then he'll find an extremely interesting piece of fuzz on the carpet or a great book he's been meaning to read. A half hour will pass, and I'll find him completely engaged in a full battle with his action figures, more toys on the floor than when I left him. Note: this problem gets worse if naptime or another undesirable activity is due to follow.
As a person who is very task oriented, I find this immensely frustrating! So I'll get angry, and break down the task, barking direct orders such as, "Pick up the Spiderman guy. Put him in the bucket. Now pick up the Ironman guy. Put him in the bucket." I'll stand over him until the entire task is complete and we are both irritated with each other.
I so don't want to be this mom, and *with a new baby and an active 2 year old* don't have time to be, but how do I ensure that what I ask gets done without having to monitor the entire operation?
About Me
- Colleen
- Fort Worth, TX, United States
- I am a SAHM mom of 3 kids. My husband is an Emergency Medicine resident at a local county hospital.
Just Me
Colleen enjoys playing with her kids, doing any kind of crafts, reading a good novel, singing for fun and on stage, taking warm baths at night, playing soccer, working out, and cuddling up on the couch with her honey watching movies and eating super-buttery popcorn!
Doctor Ben
Ben spends his time working, working, working...or studying! When he has a minute of free time he loves to wrestle with Jackson, cuddle up with Sam, tickle-attack Ally, hunt, build something or play any type of sports with his wife.
Jackson Garit, age 5
Jackson is my sweet, considerate, intelligent, curious, and slightly hyperactive child. He will walk up and talk to anyone and can't sit quietly while I read him a story without asking me a million questions and commenting all the way through. I love his zest for life and eagerness to please. He is a great example for his little brother.
Samson Jay, 3.5 years
Samson lets nothing hold him back. It's as if he is on a mission to prove that he should have been the first child. He is stubborn, but silly, persistent, but sweet. He is my little snuggle-bear!
Allyson Anne, age 12 mos
Ally is such an easy baby. She is just pretty easy-going most of the time. She loves tickling games or playing hide-and-seek. She just started walking, but usually only takes up to 6 or 7 steps at a time before deciding that crawling is faster. She is VERY curious.
1 comment:
I have one of those. He's eleven now! With him, he truly has no concept of time. Even now it's hard for him to judge how long something takes to do. One thing that has helped us in the past with him is a timer. Buy a big one that you have to turn the dial and it clicks -- it's an auditory reminder for them that time is ticking and they need to stay on task. For example, you could set it for 3 minutes and tell him he has 3 minutes to clean up the action figures (or legos, or blocks or whatever it is, but try to be specific, because if you just say "pick up the toys" it doesn't happen). My bet is that it's work pretty well. ;o) You could just make it a race against the clock thing, or you can have it tied to an incentive/reward. (I.e. if you get your pajamas on in 5 minutes or less, we can have a bedtime story). It's worked for us!
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