Kids Say the Darnedest Things

It’s happened to most parents at least once, your child says something that is not so nice. As parents how do you use these opportunity’s to teach your child. Here are a few tips:

Situation: Your child is playing with another child at the playground and they yell “Mine” and grab a sand toy from the other child.

Ways you could respond: You could jump behind the nearest tree at the playground and reprimand your child on the way home. But to enhance the learning opportunity, try telling your child about the benefits of sharing (it makes others feel good, it’s a good way to make friends, they will share things with you). If the children can’t share the item try removing it from the area. When your home, remind your child of the incident and role play the appropriate way to respond and share with others.

Situation: You ask your child to get ready for school and they say “Not Fair” and storm off.

Ways you could respond: Explain why you’re telling your child to do the task. Give them consequences for not completing the task. For example: if they don’t get ready for school they can’t watch TV when they get home. This will help your child make the connection between actions and consequences.

In the second post of the week we will give some additional tips on how to handle behaviors at home.