HELP YOUR CHILD DEVELOP PATIENCE
As a busy parent, you have many responsibilities. Your job, other children in your family, your partner, routine house duties and many more demand your attention. You learned when your child was an infant that infants can be very demanding. Your baby needed to be fed in a timely manner and can often be very insistent when hungry. Their diapers need to be changed and your baby needs to be kept clean and comfortable. Having baby's needs met are an important part of your baby's development.
As your baby grows and becomes a toddler she can become more impatient and very demanding. If you drop everything and give in to your toddlers every whim then you will find yourself with a child prone to meltdowns if her needs are not met immediately. Not only is it very time consuming and frustrating for you to deal with meltdowns, it is an important part of the child’s development to learn patience.
STEPS TO TEACHING A CHILD PATIENCE
Practice, practice, practice! Engage in activities with your child such as gardening, board games like Candy Land, cooking, and puzzles all are great ways to demonstrate how taking turns and being patient pays off in the end.
Set clear timeframes. Since most young children do not understand time until around age six, asking a toddler to wait five minutes before you go outside can be meaningless. Instead try speaking in terms of events.
For example: Let the child know that first they have to pick up. After picking up they must get their coats and put them on before they go outside
Show empathy. Try not to criticize a child who has difficulty being patient. Emphasize the positive by saying something like “I know how hard it is to wait”. Let your child know that you understand that impatience is not so much inappropriate behavior as much as a developmental issue. Children often feel emotions very strongly and don’t understand the feeling. By acknowledging the emotion can actually comfort the child.
Keep your word. If you do ask a child to wait until you have finished what you are saying before they speak, then make sure you allow that child to speak as soon as you are finished talking.
Demonstrate patience. If you are impatient you are setting a powerful example for the your child. Stay calm and slow down. Your example will go a long way in helping your child develop patience.
It may take a while for the child to learn this skill, but with patience and consistency on your part the child will learn patience. Learning patience will also help your child to develop other skills such as becoming more empathic to those around them.