3 Strategies To Help Kids Follow Spoken Directions

Kids frequently misunderstands oral directions. There are many children who have this issue. The underlying cause can be difficult to figure out. Consider what has to happen in his/her brain when he/she hears, “baby, would you please get the plates and silverware out, and put them on the table?” He has to first hear the words that are spoken, process the words in his brain, understand the meaning of the words, and then finally determine whether he needs to take an action.

Assume that your baby is paying attention and hears the words correctly (meaning his ears work fine and he does not have an ear infection preventing him from hearing). Does he know what you mean by “plates and silverware”? Does that mean the good china normally reserved for company? Could it mean paper plates left over from the picnic? Or maybe it’s the everyday dishes. Some children process this information within seconds, while others take much longer. He might never even get to the silverware options! If baby looks at you like he doesn’t understand your request, he may be processing all the options and trying to decide which makes the most sense. Often, we as parents see that he is not taking an action and immediately start giving him more directions which adds to his confusion.

If this scenario is familiar to you, here are some things you might try.

• Give fewer instructions at one time. “Baby, would you get the plates down?” Then wait long enough for him to figure out which plates you are talking about before making the next request.
• Speak more slowly so that your kid does not have to process quite so quickly.
• Teach your kid how to ask for help when he doesn’t understand you. Have him practice saying, “Mom, I am not sure what you are asking me to do. Can you help me?”

If children have a history of never understanding what others are telling them, they often give up. They quit trying. With these simple suggestions, they begin to regain confidence in their ability to understand what they are being asked to do.

Courtesy:  schoolfamily.com 

Let your kids be bored sometimes

"Mommy"

"Yes, dear."

"I'm bo-ored"

"That's nice"

*Insert pout face here*

"Well why don't you do something about it.

I'm not going to fix it for you."

At this point they walk away... and 5 minutes later they are happily playing.

Quote from Slow Family Living: Boredom; the Gateway to New Ideas

I hear all the time of parents that are afraid to let their kids get bored. They're afraid they may cause trouble, become a couch potato, or any number of "bad" things. So, they fill their kids' days with lessons, enriching activities, or just flat out entertain them all day long. It sounds exhausting and it is exhausting. Truthfully, I can't really blame any of us parents for trying. Because that's what we're doing... we're trying. Trying to give our kids wonderful experiences. Trying to make sure we give our kids plenty of quality parent time. All of that is good. But, what we're forgetting is to let them be bored.

Let them be bored. You'll be amazed at what they will create. My girls have made an elaborate dinosaur nest complete with Barbie babysitter, and they played with it for hours. They've become superheroes, mermaids, and princesses. The stories they create are amazing. Sometimes they'll just work puzzles, color, or look at books. But, they came up with the idea on their own. I didn't tell them what to do. As I was writing this post, my girls took all their little Lego people on a camping trip, complete with lots of giggles and extreme Lego sports. We were happily coexisting that afternoon. I had pen to notebook and they had their imaginations.

The dinosaur nest with Barbie babysitter

Let them be bored. I'm not telling you to stop playing with your kids or to ignore them for hours at a time. I certainly don't do that. What I am telling you to do is to give them some down time. Don't constantly entertain them. Give them the opportunity to figure out what entertains them. Let them use their imagination. Let them make up stories or elaborate play scenes. Let them race their Matchbox cars down your banister and see what happens. Let them have fun and let them be bored. Let them figure it out for themselves. Do it while they're still children because teenagers who haven't learned to entertain themselves WILL become couch potatoes.

I want to hear from you. Do you let your children be bored? Do you feel it's important? Why or why not?

Courtesy: www.creativefamilyfun.net 

PLAY

"Through Play, Children learn about the world and 

engage in activities that encourage their cognitive, 

emotional and social development" 

-Dr. David Elkind from his book, "The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier and Healthier Children

Tips for teaching Left handed children to write

courtesy: Mama OT
http://mamaot.com/2013/06/30/tips-for-teaching-lefties-to-write/