Helping Your Child Cope with Waiting: Strategies and Book Ideas
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It’s so hard to wait!!
It is finally time for that night out with your favorite group of friends. You are all showered and ready. The kids are in PJs and watching a show. All you have to do is wait for the sitter to arrive, and you go out the door. But she’s running late… Time is moving like molasses.
This is how slow time feels when you’re a young child waiting in line for your turn. S L O W.
I will never forget being a young teacher. It was my third day in a new school. Just as the children were getting ready to wash their hands, my supervisor walked in with her boss!! Talk about poor timing. Imagine guiding 18 three-year-olds through hand washing on the third day of school with an audience.
Instead of panicking, I started singing. I made up a song about waiting, “We are waiting and we’re waiting and we’re waiting!” Somewhere in there, I threw in a few lines about it being so hard, wishing for a turn, wishing I could be first.
The kids all looked up at me with wide eyes. No one pushed each other, no one ran away, and no one begged to move to the front of the line.
They felt SO SEEN!
I had never witnessed a group of kids get through a transition as smoothly. Singing about the hard stuff was MAGIC.
But, there are going to be times when kids will get antsy waiting, and an impromptu song might not cut it.
Here are some simple prompts that can help redirect them:
Acknowledging how hard it can be to wait makes them feel seen and heard. Instead of telling them how to act, try offering suggestions on ways they can cope with how they’re feeling. Let them be the ones to choose to sit and wait, or even do another activity altogether- like singing, reading, dancing, or drawing!
Here are a few books about patience that can help your child navigate those feelings when it’s so hard to wait!
Wait / Saturday / Waiting / Remy The Rhino Learns Patience / If you want to see a whale / Are we there yet? / Sophie’s Squash / “Slowly, slowly, slowly,” said the Sloth / Sam and Dave dig a hole / The carrot seed / A perfect day / Owl Moon
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If you want to create a home that is filled with play and creativity, the key is to let your child know how much you value the time and effort they spent playing.