following directions

Mama Drama: Direction Following Folly

Dear Mama Drama: My three-year-old son struggles with following directions and becomes stiff and unresponsive when he doesn’t want to do what is asked of him. We end up either letting him get away with not following directions or having to physically force him to follow them. Neither strategy is really working and he tends to fight back when we try to force him. (photo credit) The behavior usually happens when he is being asked to stop something more interesting or fun (like playing) and switch to a task that is less interesting to him (like cleaning up or washing his hands for dinner). I think it may be a learned behavior as his dad also shuts down and won’t talk when frustrated. I am struggling to support him and have no idea what to do. ~Stumped Mama Dear Stumped: It is fairly common fo...

Mama Drama: Getting Kids to Tune In

Dear Mama Drama: I have three children ages 2, 4, and 6. I struggle so much to get them to listen to me when I am giving directions or asking them questions. They don’t even listen when I’m trying to do something for them like fix a meal and give them a choice about something. I get so frustrated that I end up yelling at them. This is clearly not working, but I don’t know what else to do. ~Tuned Out Mama (photo credit) Dear Tuned Out: It is extremely frustrating when your kids don’t listen to you. Sticking with the same old patterns of repeating directions and yelling, however, will only bring the same results. You’ll have to change your approach in order to change their response. First make sure you have their attention before you give any information. Go to where they are, say thei...