Do This To Sidestep Power Struggles With Younger Kids (It's More Fun This Way, Too!)
"Let's zoom!" 🚀
🚽 Instead of “go to the potty”, what about “wanna hop or walk backwards to the potty?”
🚗 Instead of “let’s get your car seat on”, how about “this rocket is going to blast off into the road; this is your driver, seat belts on, please”
🛏 Instead of “time for bed”, what about “vroom vroom, it’s the bedtime bus, zoom to bed with me for stories and fun!”
🦷 Instead of resistance at teeth brushing time, what about making up a little rhyme whilst those smiles are brushed?
When mine were 2 and 4, we made up this rhyme when we did teeth brushing:
“Green blue, green blue
Yahya’s two, Yahya’s two
Yusha’s four, yusha’ s four
That’s the score, that’s the score!”
(I’ve changed my kids’ real names in this!)
We’d sing this often at teeth brushing time.
✨Playfulness is especially helpful when you know your child doesn’t like to do a specific thing, like brushing teeth.
🍴 It can also be helpful for reminders of habits we’re helping them build, like taking putting their plates and cups away they eat...
🍽 The plate can talk and say “after you eat on me, please put me in the sink” in a funny voice!
🧸 Sometimes, I get my kids’ favourite soft toys to ‘tell’ my kids stuff, like:
🦖 “Roary, can you tell Yahya to keep it keep it down a little bit? Thanks!”
🦖 My son would then put on Roary the dinosaur’s voice and then remind himself to keep it down a bit.
Memo delivered and potential icky feels sidestepped in this instance. Ker-ching! 🙌🏽
🧰 Please think of using play at transitions or at potential tension points in the day as a tool in your toolkit.
🛑 Not a have to, or must do (or something to feel bad about ‘cos we don’t or can’t! #WeAintAboutThatLife 😉)
Just a little ‘I could try this’ tool in your parenting repertoire ✨
I know I don’t do it all the time...
You can enjoy it as a playful tool, though...(I do!)
And when you’re up to it, it can inject a bit of lightheartedness, fun and connection into your day and routine with your littles.
And remember, as you parent, that it’s not practice makes perfect, it’s practice makes progress ❤️🧸
Photo Credit: Ketut Subiyanto.