Five teachers using a combined 90 years of experience share advice for parents of two - to 5-year-olds. Getting the Best from Your Kid I worry my 3-year-old, Sophie, has a split personality. At school she cleans up her toys, puts on her sneakers, and is completely self indulgent at potty time. At home, she whines whenever I ask her to pick anything up, insists that I join her in the bathroom whenever she has to go, and recently has started demanding that I spoon-feed her dinner. Certainly, her teacher knows something that I don't. But then, what parent hasn't occasionally wondered: Why is my child better for everyone else than for me? The simple answer: Your kid tests her limits with you since she trusts you will love her no matter what. But that doesn't mean you can't invest a few strategies from the preschool teachers' playbook to get the best from your little one. We asked educators from all over the nation for their tips so listen up and take notes! .
Give structured choices
If, for example, your 3-year-old refuses to sit at the dinner table, you could offer the option of sitting and receiving dessert -- or maybe not sitting and passing up a treat. Initially, your child might not make the right option, but he will, because he'll see that the incorrect choice isn't get him what he desires, says Buss. Just be certain, if you'd like your child to choose choice A, that option B is less attractive.
Allow your child work out minor squabbles
Rather than swooping into settle disputes, stand back and let them work it out (unless they're hitting each other). You won't always be there to rescue your son or daughter.
Redirect.
If your preschooler is leaping on the couch or grabbing for her big sister's dolls, distract her by asking if she'd like to draw an image or read a brief story together.
Lighten up
If your child refuses to do something, consider turning it to a game. Humor and matches are just two excellent tools that parents sometimes forget about in the heat of the moment, says Zebooker. When her son, now 13, was in preschool, she had to convince him to put his shoes in the morning by enjoying with shoe shop. I would say, 'Welcome to Miss Mommy's Shoe Store, I've got the best pair for you to test on now,' and that I 'd speak in a silly accent and he loved it. (that I 've had luck using this approach with Sophie, who used to clamp her mouth shut whenever I attempted to brush her teeth. Now we play with the Let's Guess What You Ate Today game -- and she willingly opens up so I can hunt her molars for cereal, strawberries, or mac and cheese.)
Winning Cooperation
Walk into just about any preschool class in the country, and you'll see kids sitting quietly in circles, forming orderly lines, increasing their hands to talk, passing out napkins and snacks. The question is: How do teachers do it? How can they get a dozen or more children under 4 to cooperate, voluntarily and happily? While there's no secret formula, most say: Praise is crucial, especially if your child isn't in a cooperative phase. Try to catch her being good. Children repeat behaviors that capture attention.
Don't reevaluate what they've done.
If your son or daughter makes her bed, then resist the urge to smooth the blankets. If she sees herself in stripes and polka dots, then compliment her diverse fashion. Unless absolutely necessary, don't mend what your child accomplishes, says Kathy Buss, director of the Weekday Nursery School, in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. She'll notice and it could discourage her
No comments:
Post a Comment