Oh boy, gotta keep the family in-line but in the most lovable ways possible!
My little man just hit the proverbial “terrible-two’s” and has been a bit more challenging to talk to here lately. Still an awesome little man and I love him like you wouldn’t believe – I just wish I could talk with him a little bit more effectively.
Well, well, well… I ran across an audiobook on talking to kids and I pulled out a couple of very useful tidbits from it. See if you can use the information below:
[5 Techniques to try when talking to a child]:
- DESCRIBE ONLY – simply describe the problem at hand – no instruction
- GIVE INFORMATION – just give information about an issue and let them come to a conclusion (“it would be a lot easier if everyone helped get ready for dinner” or “milk sours when left out of the fridge”)
- SAY IT WITH A WORD – “blah blah blah omg you can’t pick up your toys blah blah blah…” – try this instead, “Son – toys”
- TALK ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS – give insight into what you are thinking / describe your feelings
- WRITE A NOTE – write it down – make it a little silly, but give a good message
[ALTERNATIVES TO PUNISHMENT]
- Point out a way to be helpful
- Express strong disapproval without attacking his character
- State your expectations
- Show the child how to make ammends
- Give him a choice and let him decude
- Take action (more them to a new area)
- Allow child to experience consequence of decisions (ex- you were bad in the store, now you don’t get to go this time)
I’ve already tried a couple of these methods, and with some practice, I can say this is going to help me quite a bit!