Therapy Thursday – Are we there yet? Giving specific responses to questions
Are we there yet?
Who hasn’t heard that phrase uttered a million times? In addition to that phrase, my daughter is always asking “when are they (a playdate) coming? What are we doing this weekend? What are we doing today?
My usual responses are “they are coming over this afternoon, we are running errands, we are going to the park, we have a play date, respectively.”
The problem with my responses is that they are literally not enough to placate my daughter because inevitably, she is in my face asking the same question over and over again until I get so frustrated that I end up not so much yelling but raising my voice and responding “they will get here when they get here” and “we will leave in a couple of hours.”
As my therapist reminded me, kids have no sense of time and even if my daughter could tell time, she would still be in my face asking these questions over and over again.
What’s the solution to this quandary so my daughter is satisfied with my response and I don’t feel frustrated with her constant nagging, is to give exact and specific responses and use a timer. Why a timer? Because my response alone would not be enough to placate her because again there is no sense of time for her, the timer literally is a signal that something is going to happen.
So if there is a scheduled playdate, I will literally tell her “I am putting the timer on my iPhone and when it goes off they will be here.”
It’s amazing what a little specificity and using a clock does to help us both get through the day.
Category: Therapy Thursday
Great Tips, now if only this works with some “adults.”
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As a former 3rd grade teacher, I can tell you first hand that a timer WORKS WONDERS! I definitely plan to use it with my son when he gets a little older and starts asking those annoying, I mean, intriguing questions a million and one times.
Thanks for the comment. Timer was the best suggestion and somehow continues to work. Of course, I need to make sure I use it often.