Quote:
Originally Posted by sstarcake
This is a great thread. Eye opening, even. But what about the 3 year old that still says "NO!" to the direct command? That's where the 5 steps comes in, no?
The 5 steps in this house just end up looking like me (struggling to maintain my composure) physically dragging said 3 year old (who is doing the limp noodle thing, while whining "no....no....no....") around, cleaning up toys or whatever. Me holding her hand closed over the toy, then prying her hand open to release it into the box.....
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I tried this one time and it felt so demeaning (to the child) that I simply don't do it. (Said in love
) I strongly feel that we should treat children with respect, and "forcefully helping" felt disrespectful, to me.
It also makes them quite disinclined to comply next time. I prefer to build good/happy/productive associations with cleaning up.
I agree with Heather's list
And each child has their trigger, if you will. My oldest responds well to "when/then". My middle could care less
He likes it when I join - and typically cheerfully helps me.
Also, I rarely get good responses to clean up "commands" with a 3 yr old if they're in a funky mood
"Let's clean up the markers" whilst singing the clean up song leaves it open. And, yes, you will sometimes clean up most on your own. But it's an option if the above list isn't working.