How to Teach Your Kids to be Patient
Tips for teaching your children to be patient with one another.
Cherylyn Feierabend
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How to Teach Your Kids to be Patient
Raise your hand if you think you are patient. Anyone? I’d like to think I’m patient, but the reality is that I’m only patient in certain situations. Even as adults we have difficulty with patience. Imagine how much more difficult it must be for children, who are just learning to control their emotions, to be patient. This week’s tips are brought to you courtesy of Chris and Melissa Bugaj also know as Mr. Chris and Miss Mel. They are the creators of Night Light Stories. Night Light Stories is a podcast featuring original children’s stories. You can visit their blog and listen to some of their stories at https://www.nightlightstories.net. Melissa was kind enough to share some tips about how she and Chris teach their children to be patient.
How to Teach Kids to Be Patient
Find opportunities where adults can demonstrate patience with one another while the kids are watching. Chris and Melissa act out scenarios and have the children interact with them. For example, Melissa will call to Chris and Chris will not respond. Melissa will ask the children, “Why is Daddy not answering me? What should I do?” She will give them to opportunity to questions such as, “Should I yell or scream at him?” When the children respond that these are not good ideas, she’ll ask, “Should I walk over to him and gently tap him on the shoulder and let him know I was calling him?” Based on the agreement of the children, Melissa will then actually go to Daddy as directed and he will apologize and say, “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you.” By involving the kids in these activities and having them see the behavior acted out, it reminds them of how they could handle similar situations in the future. You can also use toys, dolls, or figurines to demonstrate similar scenarios. Would Princess Ariel take Cinderella’s dinosaur toy away? It gives the children opportunities to point out how the princesses should respond. When the kids say, “Cinderella, don’t be angry! Take a deep breath!” it shows that the children are incorporating one of the strategies they’ve been taught.
Melissa also uses pictures of the children to demonstrate patience and good behavior. She has pictures of the children in the act of sharing and she’s hung them in the play room and on the refrigerator at the children’s eye level. When the children are looking at the pictures, she reinforces the example by pointing out the pictures and saying, “I really like when you play and speak so nicely to each other.”
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