Distraction can work for your in all kinds of situations. I have found it especially helpful in the car. My kids have, for the most part, been really easy to have in the car. However, every once in a while the car is a very frustrating place. I hope you saw my post on 10 ways to keep kids entertained in the car. Yesterday we were driving home from my sister’s house (2 1/2 hours), and we started to lose it during the last 30 minutes. Kenzie started crying about something, and I quickly said, “Hey, look at that red truck. It’s so shiny.” That was it. Suddenly, everyone was looking out the window. Corban started saying, “truck.” Abby started a game of eye spy. Crying ceased. I use car distraction a lot by pointing something out or starting a game. I’ve found distraction a highly successful tool for car rides. However, it’s not the only time to use distraction. With litter kids I’ve used it if they’re trying to get at something they are not suppose to have. Babies are easy. They get really persistent on wanting a certain item or wanting to get into an area they are not suppose to. By bringing in another toy and engaging them with something else, they often completely forget about what they wanted before. It works for older kids too. I’ve found that the girls might be wanting the same item. I can suddenly introduce a different toy and the attention moves. I’ve used distraction if a child hurts themselves and is in that “I’m not really hurt that bad, but I’m enjoying crying about it” stage. If I am interested in it, they become interested in it. Often, engaging in the emotion or entertaining the battle makes things worse. Try and think of creative ways to distract kids from their negative actions or responses.
Great tips, JOdi, We use this one a lot too. My husband is really great at it.
Thanks! Love to see the pictures of your family. I hope the adjustment is going well. I know the first months or hard.