?It?s time to put our shoes on, hon.?
?You have two minutes to put those shoes on.?
?Put those shoes on RIGHT NOW!?
This kind of nagging happens daily, since my adorable daughter, Maytal, morphed into a headstrong ?threenager.? I can ask, cajole, instruct and, yes, even bribe (at my weakest moments!), but getting her to listen the first time seems near impossible.
If you?re the parent of a preschooler, you can probably relate. ?It can be really frustrating,? says Jennifer Gale, mom to Cameron, 5, and Liam, 3, in Calgary. ?Some-times when we need to interrupt Liam?s playtime to clean up, he?ll just not respond. He?ll just give us this pouty look.?
Tuning out is common among preschoolers, says Julie Romanowski, a Vancouver parenting coach. But when your kid is silent and inattentive, they?re actually speaking volumes. ?People say, ?My kids don?t listen,? but in my experience, they are listening?they just don?t always care about what?s being said.? So how do you get a preoccupied preschooler to give a hoot when you?re speaking" Here are some tactics that should help.
Make a connection

Making face-to-face contact can work wonders in helping kids understand what you?re asking and why. Instead of shouting orders from another room, come into your child?s space and get interested in what they?re doing. Play with them briefly before sliding in a request. ?Kids of this age group tend to want something in return for listening. And what they usually crave is the connection with t...