ideas to entertain a 6 year old while shopping / waiting

[moodymaximus]

DD gets "bored" and impatient when we need to wait in line, shop, etc. what i thought would work--me talking to her about what we are doing, our choices, products, etc, doesn't work. she finds this boring. yesterday we tried to discuss ideas on how to help her out to deal with boring situations, and i (duck) suggested a tamagotchi. now i looked into it, and i'm not sure.

so i'm looking for ideas. it doesn't have to be an hand-held electronic game.

what didn't work: bringing a toy or several; playing "i spy" games; talking through my shopping with her; giving her a snack (short term relief)...

she doesn't seem to grasp the concept that sometimes she has to wait through the boring stuff

[kamilla626]

As long has her behavior isn't totally disruptive, this may just be one of those things that she needs to practice. Being patient is a skill like any other, and some kids (and adults) are better at it than others.

I know that being on the receiving end of the whining, foot-dragging, begging, eye-rolling and groaning is no fun, though.

[moodymaximus]

Originally Posted by kamilla626

As long has her behavior isn't totally disruptive, this may just be one of those things that she needs to practice. Being patient is a skill like any other, and some kids (and adults) are better at it than others.

I know that being on the receiving end of the whining, foot-dragging, begging, eye-rolling and groaning is no fun, though.

it is whining and interrupting if dh and i talk...so technically not so bad...annoying, of course. maybe i'm expecting too much as she is my oldest.

so far my approach has been to tell her that it is okay that she's bored, and if she chooses to whine, it is her choice. and i also pointed out to her that if she didn't whine, she could've actually managed to entertain herself in some way or another. she says she chooses to whine.

i'm not sure this is how patience develops. really? through repetition? (i'd like to hear thoughts, i'm not snarky, in case this doesn't show through writing ).

[zeldamomma]

I think declaring that you're bored is a 6 year old thing. I spent sometime trying to help my oldest find something to do when she was "bored" and she quickly decided that anything I suggested was also boring. Eventually I realized she was being rude to me, and that this was her chosen method of entertaining herself. I don't let her stand around complaining about this, that, and the other thing being dull anymore. Either she can figure out some toy of hers to bring along and entertain herself, or not, but either way she needs to be reasonably pleasant to me and the other people around us.

I'm meaner than the average MDC mom, though.

ZM

[kamilla626]

Originally Posted by zeldamomma

Eventually I realized she was being rude to me, and that this was her chosen method of entertaining herself.

I think that's what my 5 yr. old does as well. It's not so much that she doesn't have anything to do. But being whiney and annoying becomes the "something to do".

[CarrieMF]

IMO it's better to let her be bored & whine than to get into the habit of relying on electronics.

When you're shopping have her push the cart, put stuff in the cart, let her pick out some things that aren't on the list(if you can afford it).

Waiting in line, she's going to have to suck that one up & get use to it. she'l going to spend a good portion of her life waiting in line.

If you & dh are waiting for appointments then there are magazines, or you can bring books. If I have only 1 of my kids I"ll bring my mp3 player but not bring it out unless absolutely necessary & that'd be while I'm in at the appointment, not while waiting for it.

[mamazee]

I don't get the anti-electronics-while-waiting thing. Kids have a different sense of time than we have. I remember having to ride to my grandma's house when I was a kid and I thought it took HOURS. Now I've driven that same route and I know it was about 35 minutes.

My daughter has a ds and an ipod shuffle. The shuffle has music and stories. If I have to run a bunch of errands, I don't expect her to be able to behave like an adult. I let her bring one if she wants. She doesn't always, but there are certain places she HATES to wait, like the post office. She always brings something to the post office.

[Ruthla]

I was going to suggest playing "I spy" but if that doesn't work, then maybe she just needs to be bored. Tell her "I don't like waiting in line either, but sometimes we have to do things we don't like." What about telling stories or getting involved in discussions of more interesting (to her) things, even if theyr'e completely unrelated to the task at hand?

If you're uncomfortable with electronic distractions, what about small books for her to read, or a blank pad to doodle on, or a puzzle book to fill out, etc. But it does look like you've already tried both toys and "verbal games" and nothing's helped, I'm not so sure an electronic game would work either. She probably just doesn't want to go shopping and would rather be involved in some other kind of activity at home or elsewhere. Since you don't have the option of going shopping while she's in school, she'll just have to learn to deal with the discomfort of shopping.

[CarrieMF]

I don't get the anti-electronics-while-waiting thing.

For me it's because I don't think it's necessary, there are other things they can do during that time. So many people start off with them innocently & then end up relying on them for everything. I know people whose kids can't take a 20minute drive without watching tv because they didn't learn how to occupy themselves in a car.

When we'd go on long trips(5-6 hours) as kids we took books or small toys with us. there was no need for dvd's to watch. If we didn't want to read or play we'd watch the scenery or come up with games with our siblings. As we got older I did have a walkman to listen to music & I'd sleep.

When we'd go camping we'd find things to do, other people bring dvds, video games etc. IMO part of camping is being away from those things.

[choli]

When one of my DDs was that age and used to comlain when waiting, I used to tell her "tell yourself a story in your head".

Strangely enough, it worked.

[mamazee]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

For me it's because I don't think it's necessary, there are other things they can do during that time. So many people start off with them innocently & then end up relying on them for everything. I know people whose kids can't take a 20minute drive without watching tv because they didn't learn how to occupy themselves in a car.

When we'd go on long trips(5-6 hours) as kids we took books or small toys with us. there was no need for dvd's to watch. If we didn't want to read or play we'd watch the scenery or come up with games with our siblings. As we got older I did have a walkman to listen to music & I'd sleep.

When we'd go camping we'd find things to do, other people bring dvds, video games etc. IMO part of camping is being away from those things.

I don't know. We haven't had that problem. And I wouldn't feel right making my daughter suffer through something that is worse for her than me because of some idea I had of what might happen. I mean, on one hand, she might want to use it more than I'd like her to. That's the worst case scenario. On the other hand, she's guaranteed to have to sit bored for sometimes a great deal of time if she doesn't have something to do. I've had to do many errands in a row and have to spend a couple of hours at it. It is really hard for young kids to just wait like that. She doesn't use it often but it really helps at times like that. We got it before a long plane trip, which is hard for even me to wait through at 40.

I guess I just remember waiting for my mom to run errands and how awful it was. It felt like torture to me. I had no real sense of time and it felt like we were waiting forever.

[mags]

Check out the, "I spy" or "eye spy" pillows on etsy.com They would be nice to have handy in your purse for situations like this.

[zeldamomma]

Originally Posted by mamazee

I don't get the anti-electronics-while-waiting thing. Kids have a different sense of time than we have. I remember having to ride to my grandma's house when I was a kid and I thought it took HOURS. Now I've driven that same route and I know it was about 35 minutes.

My daughter has a ds and an ipod shuffle. The shuffle has music and stories. If I have to run a bunch of errands, I don't expect her to be able to behave like an adult. I let her bring one if she wants. She doesn't always, but there are certain places she HATES to wait, like the post office. She always brings something to the post office.

I don't think there's anything wrong with bringing along something to do, whether it's electronic or not. But I think its important to not treat boredom like it's something a child can't handle. It's not pleasant, we avoid it when we can, but it's not the end of the world either, KWIM? I'm speaking generally here, not specifically about the OP, but I've seen people who seem to think it is their job to make sure their kid is never ever bored, and I don't think its good for their kids.

ZM

[mamazee]

Originally Posted by zeldamomma

I don't think there's anything wrong with bringing along something to do, whether it's electronic or not. But I think its important to not treat boredom like it's something a child can't handle. It's not pleasant, we avoid it when we can, but it's not the end of the world either, KWIM? I'm speaking generally here, not specifically about the OP, but I've seen people who seem to think it is their job to make sure their kid is never ever bored, and I don't think its good for their kids.

ZM

I agree with that. I guess we just use it for extreme cases where she couldn't help but be bored, and I don't think it's fair to expect very young children to deal with something like sitting quietly at the bank while you meet with a loan officer. Or waiting in line at the post office, which always seems to take close to an hour for some reason. That kind of thing. I would be upset if my daughter needed constant entertainment though. She actually does fine at the grocery store. Of course we all know our own kids and what is over the line in their particular cases.

[ChetMC]

What We Do

We rarely cart around stuff to entertain the kids. Standing in lines and waiting for the bus we'll do things like play "I Spy" or count to 100 alternating (I say all even numbers and DD says all odd numbers). I know you said that your DD didn't like I Spy, but you didn't say why. Maybe another game would work.

We also play a game where I give one clue (like it's red) and the kids guess something red. Then I add another clue where the second clue describes what was wrong with their guess (they guess a car, so I say no, it's red and round), and so on. A six year old could probably just play twenty questions though. Our kids don't seem to get twenty questions yet.

[JessicaTX]

my almost 6 year old can be fascinated for hours taking pictures with my phone. That's my method of distraction when it's just us two running errands =)

[prettypixels]

Love the idea of taking pictures with the phone. My daughter looooOOOooves my phone too.

What about singing songs together? Making up silly songs? Take a tune like "twinkle twinkle" and just invent silly lyrics that make you both laugh.

Rhyming games?

Or, hey, I am not at all opposed to the idea of an electronic gadget if that is what it takes to keep her happy. I HATE lines myself, I suppose I never grew out of that hatred of lines. HATE them! I try very hard to not go to stores when they are crazy; maybe that is something you can work on too, just trying your best to schedule things when the lines are shorter. I don't think it's really fair to say "lines suck, so suck it up," to a six year old.

[griffin2004]

I keep a cheap-o pedometer in my purse for such occasions. You can make up a zillion varieties of "how many steps is it" games -- and throw in some exercise and math to boot!

[Emmeline II]

I still remember the day after Christmas that I had to stand in line with my mom for a couple of hours .

The military taught me patience...nothing like standing at attention for three hours to teach you how to mentally entertain yourself .

We usually have a snack, book, or a toy, or they entertain each other, though I try very hard not to be in a situation that requires standing in line for a long time with a 2 and a 4yo.

[4evermom]

I desperately want a hand held electronic game system for ds, lol!

He is fine on long car rides. He's fine at Target or a convenience store. He is NOT fine in a grocery store or post office lines! Now, he'll wait in the car if I go to the post office. I leave him home with dh as much as possible from the grocery store. But once in a while, I need to bring him with me and he gets completely bonkers like nothing I've ever seen.

I've had limited success with telling him a bunch or orders, like do 10 jumping jacks. Now run to that pillar and back. Ok, now hop on one foot on the black floor tiles. But that only works if there is room to move and the store isn't crowded. The camera idea a pp mentioned is great. Now I wish I had a camera feature on my cell phone, lol. Recently, ds discovered working a stopwatch and now he likes to time things. That's a possibility, though the cashier might be taken aback.