Having trouble with fidgety kids?
Yes, a goldfish has a longer attention span than your little one. Very young children have about an average attention span of 15 seconds, so, if an activity consumes more time than that miserly 15 seconds…
Kids have a natural tendency to be restless and squirmy. Just imagine how fidgety they will get when they truly dislike a certain activity or are simply disinterested.
Tips on keeping them kids still
1) Be prepared
Well, first off, never go to a place where your child will be requested to stand or sit still without being prepared for it. Get your stash of books, paper, crayons (small noiseless toys) and whatever it takes to keep your kid occupied.
2) Have gadgets around
If your kid has to remain seated for a long time, like on a train, plane or car; then consider taking a portable laptop or DVD player. Or the rage these days would be to use your iPod or iPad to play Angry Birds or any other game. If it is educational—even better!
3) High chairs to the rescue
At a restaurant, just ensure that your child is seated on a high chair or booster and strapped.
Teaching your child to behave
4) Burn off the excess energy
If possible and if time allows, then bring your kid to a play ground before you go anywhere that requires him/her to sit or hold still. Why? Then your kid has a chance to “run it off”—basically the trick is to get all the energy out of them first.
For more tips on how to get your kid to sit still, do visit page 2
5) Walk!
Instead of driving or putting your kid in a stroller, just walk to your destination. This too will burn off energy.
6) Magic spells
“Freeze!”—You can cast a magic freeze spell on your kid that will last until the end of your event, or at least until your kid gets fidgety again. Maybe then you can have your kid cast a spell on you. Take turns.
7) Statues game
A game you can play with your kid is “Statues”. It is very simple. Tell your kid you are going to see how long he/she can stay completely still like a statue. Count in seconds. Then when he/she moves, you can utter some praises for holding still for an impressive amount of time. Then see if they can beat their own record. Don’t forget to reward them with a treat to make the game worth playing.
If they don’t listen to you, then give them a time out later.
Cool trivia:
If you were thinking that a goldfish has a three second attention span, then, you’re wrong. The University of Plymouth’s School of Psychology did a study in 2003 proving that the attention span of a gold fish is 3 months. So, we are right. The gold fish has a longer attention span than your kid—or maybe even you.
