KIDS NEED TO LEARN TO HAVE SOME PATIENCE

We live in a quick-paced world where everybody has expectations of instant gratification, but Emma says that children can benefit from being taught to play the waiting game

When I was a child, the TV was for my parents and the back garden or the street was for me. That meant dealing with boredom and getting creative with my imagination. With today’s fastpaced tech, kids now never need to have a dull minute, but, as a result, they are struggling to manifest the art of being patient.

HOLD OFF TREATS

Patience is required for tolerance, managing stress and avoiding prolonged conflict, so it’s a key trait. Create opportunities where a younger child has to wait for something they want. You can do this with any reward, treat, or activity, by holding off giving it to them for a certain time frame – say, 20 minutes. Once this time has passed, give them lots of praise and reinforce how being patient leads to good things. This delayed gratification technique helps children to selfsoothe and also to feel a sense of accomplishment and gratitude.

DO SLOW ACTIVITIES

Help your child set goals and create a chart that tracks their progress to remind them how patient they are being, and how close they are to achieving their goal. You are your child’s greatest role model, so show them how you have personally mastered patience too. Encourage them to sit quietly while you both read books, or suggest they help you in the garden. Invest in some puzzles, or paint by numbers, or whatever it is that helps you to release stress, and then show how to work things through calmly. Teach your child how, even when they have to wait in a queue, the time doesn’t have to be wasted. Play songs, games like I-spy, or help them attend to nature by listing as many sounds as they can hear.

STICK TO YOUR GUNS

Learn to say no, and stick to it. Kids will push when they want something, this is how they learn to navigate their world. If you always cave in, they will automatically believe that everything they want is possible, whenever they want it. This makes them more impulsive, making their adult lives more challenging. So, to give your kids the gift of patience, make them wait, however much they moan. It will be worth it.