thoughtmatters.com.au/blog
"I asked you to clean up your room!" "Put your things away, for the last time!" Have you ever wondered why the things you say to your kids aren’t being done? Do you feel like they are ignoring you on purpose? These are frustrations parents can avoid quite easily – yes, really!!! Here are 3 surprisingly easy steps to get the message to your child in a way that gives you the results you want: Step 1: Get their full attention First things first – we need to make sure we have their attention. If you want your child to listen, it’s really important to use their name to get their attention and make sure they are able to hear you. I know I have wasted my breath asking for something to be done when the kids are engrossed in their favourite TV show or playing some game on a screen (those screens!! yes, I know, but that’s a topic for another time!!) Step 2: Identify the specific action you would like done. Yes, we need to be clear about the message. No, that doesn’t mean louder! It actually means being specific about what you would like your child to do. When a child hears “Tidy your room”, the actions required around that are not necessarily clear for them. To them, it may look tidy already. Let them know exactly what they need to do to make the room tidy. That may include putting all the toys into the toybox, putting all dirty clothes in the laundry, making their bed: the specifics of what makes their room tidy are up to you. Remember to be clear and specific about what you are asking your child to do. Step 3: Give them a timeframe. Now, it could be argued that it wasn’t clear exactly WHEN you wanted that room to be tidied, or that game to be finished – we have to give them points for creative justification, right?! This means for the message to be received by your child and acted upon, it is also important to ask for the job to be done in a certain time frame e.g. “before bed”, “in the next 5 minutes”, or even “now…please”. Which leads me to… Step 4: ok, this step is an optional (but recommended) extra… Include a “please or ‘thank you”. Our children learn respect from us by being treated with respect. We show them how it’s done when we say “please” and “thank you”. Make sure some of these words are in your request. Taking this all into account, your request would sound something like this: “Emily, before we leave today, please put all your toys in the basket, put your clothes away and close the drawers.” Sometimes, we can change it around to appreciate what they will do in advance. This can sound something like “ Tom, thanks for your help - it’s time to clear up the dinner dishes before I get some dessert ready.” Perhaps you already do part of this, or even all of these things at different times. But to improve the way your child understands what is expected, make sure to first get their attention, be specific about the task, let them know the time frame and use a ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ in your message. Vanessa Steele ThoughtMatters
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Vanessa Steele: counsellor, mum, partner, blogger... listening and learning every day. Categories
All
|