BarelyBlogging

Lauren (4 years old) is a really good swimmer, but I was surprised that she would actually jump off the diving board!

Lauren on the Diving Board

I’m really enjoying the Parent Hacks blog. Here’s a trick I use on Lauren all the time:

When you want your child to do something that she doesn’t like to do, always give her two choices: the desired activity and something worse. If she rejects both choices, you insist that the worst choice will then be chosen by default, but you offer the choices again. After one or two attempts at evasion, she will choose the desired activity, plus she will feel empowered that she avoided the worse choice.

Example: Bedtime

We always read a couple books before bedtime, so I use that as a reward:

Me: Lauren it’s time for bed.
Lauren: No, not yet!
Me: Do you want to read some books, or go straight to sleep?
Lauren: No, not yet!!!
Me: Okay, we’ll go straight to sleep (start moving)… or do you want to read some books first?
Lauren: Read books!

This technique works amazingly well with Lauren, but she’s not the most strong-willed child so your mileage may vary.

Note: the “worse” choice should be something you’re willing to follow through; if you end up having to do the “worse” choice, the next time you offer the choices you’ll probably get a quicker response!