My daycare provider (just 2 mornings/week), who I think is really great with the kids in most ways, has been telling me that my 22mo ds is having trouble listening to directions. She seems to be talking about his tendency to get into things and places considered “out of bounds.” Hard for me to get enough time to really talk it through with her for a couple of reasons: It’s hectic because it’s pickup time for everyone. Also I feel a little defensive, so probably tend to shut down the conversation myself. I know, I know, I need to talk to her more to get a better read about what’s going on.
She tells me how she’s addressing it, and suggests I use the same methods at home for consistency. Here’s what she’s doing so far: she tells him her direction: “That’s a teacher drawer. Let’s close it, and I’ll show you your drawer.” Then he tends to follow her direction at first, but a minute later he’s back to the “teacher drawer.” She then says, “I see you’re having trouble listening. Stop your body.” If he continues, she picks him up and says, “I’ll help you stop your body until you’re ready to listen. Tell me when your ready.” Apparently he doesn’t get upset through all this talking and moving him around. Anyway, I guess it’s working fine for the daycare setting, but it’s not really my style. When I run into similar situations at home, I tend to redirect him to something further away from the tempting hazard, and later baby proof (e.g., He used to get into the CD player, and I worried he might break it or get hurt on it. I moved it to a closed cabinet, and put latches on the doors). I’d never thought about it as “trouble with listening,” since he’s so young. I figured he was too young to control his impulses very well, so I would shape the environment to have fewer out-of-bounds temptations. (I'd like to put a latch on that drawer myself!) Maybe I should be focusing on getting him to listen to directions better, as the daycare provider suggests? Any thoughts?
She tells me how she’s addressing it, and suggests I use the same methods at home for consistency. Here’s what she’s doing so far: she tells him her direction: “That’s a teacher drawer. Let’s close it, and I’ll show you your drawer.” Then he tends to follow her direction at first, but a minute later he’s back to the “teacher drawer.” She then says, “I see you’re having trouble listening. Stop your body.” If he continues, she picks him up and says, “I’ll help you stop your body until you’re ready to listen. Tell me when your ready.” Apparently he doesn’t get upset through all this talking and moving him around. Anyway, I guess it’s working fine for the daycare setting, but it’s not really my style. When I run into similar situations at home, I tend to redirect him to something further away from the tempting hazard, and later baby proof (e.g., He used to get into the CD player, and I worried he might break it or get hurt on it. I moved it to a closed cabinet, and put latches on the doors). I’d never thought about it as “trouble with listening,” since he’s so young. I figured he was too young to control his impulses very well, so I would shape the environment to have fewer out-of-bounds temptations. (I'd like to put a latch on that drawer myself!) Maybe I should be focusing on getting him to listen to directions better, as the daycare provider suggests? Any thoughts?
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: Um, whose baby is it again?!
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