This or That?
I have had a lot of success over the past few months getting Gracie to do things, by giving her a choice, and now it is really starting to pay off.
In the beginning we were having such a hard time getting her to eat anything, I would give her a choice for lunch "applesauce or carrots?" Or something along those lines. I never gave her more than two choices and usually she would deliberate for a few minutes and pick the one she wanted and eat.
The decisions eventually moved away from food, and it helped her be less overwhelmed. If she wanted to play with mommy and started pulling everything out, I would ask her "do you want to play blocks or tools?" I think this really helped her stay more calm when it comes time to do something. Like storytime; she has tons of books, so it is easier if I pull a few out and ask her "Little Critter or Clifford?"
Gracie's mind seems to go a mile a minute, and I think implementing these exercises to narrow down her choices and allow her to make some decisions in her daily activities, has made a huge impact. She has fewer temper-tantrums and finds it easier to settle down. In fact, Gracie enjoys making her own decisions so much, that when I give her two choices, sometimes she adds her own third choice (which is usually Baby Einstein!). I figure if she knows what she wants, then we will pick that. Of course most of the time I have to make a silly face and say "I don't think so!" when she asks for the 10th time "Baby Einstein?"
Now, her new favorite decision making process is "getting dressed." She likes to pick out what she wears, or at least what color she wears. Of course she picks it out after I have to remind her everyday that the pink frilly dress is for parties!
Of Course, there are things that can't be negotiable, like naptime, dinner time, bath...etc. And I surely wouldn't want to overwhelm Gracie even more by constantly having her make choices. I definitely use this exercise in moderation.
She is becoming more and more independent everyday. And may I suggest that if your toddler gets overwhelmed easy, you may want to try getting him or her to choose between two things. It seems to give them a sense of independence and it lessens the chaos by having a set number of variables.
In the beginning we were having such a hard time getting her to eat anything, I would give her a choice for lunch "applesauce or carrots?" Or something along those lines. I never gave her more than two choices and usually she would deliberate for a few minutes and pick the one she wanted and eat.
The decisions eventually moved away from food, and it helped her be less overwhelmed. If she wanted to play with mommy and started pulling everything out, I would ask her "do you want to play blocks or tools?" I think this really helped her stay more calm when it comes time to do something. Like storytime; she has tons of books, so it is easier if I pull a few out and ask her "Little Critter or Clifford?"
Gracie's mind seems to go a mile a minute, and I think implementing these exercises to narrow down her choices and allow her to make some decisions in her daily activities, has made a huge impact. She has fewer temper-tantrums and finds it easier to settle down. In fact, Gracie enjoys making her own decisions so much, that when I give her two choices, sometimes she adds her own third choice (which is usually Baby Einstein!). I figure if she knows what she wants, then we will pick that. Of course most of the time I have to make a silly face and say "I don't think so!" when she asks for the 10th time "Baby Einstein?"
Now, her new favorite decision making process is "getting dressed." She likes to pick out what she wears, or at least what color she wears. Of course she picks it out after I have to remind her everyday that the pink frilly dress is for parties!
Of Course, there are things that can't be negotiable, like naptime, dinner time, bath...etc. And I surely wouldn't want to overwhelm Gracie even more by constantly having her make choices. I definitely use this exercise in moderation.
She is becoming more and more independent everyday. And may I suggest that if your toddler gets overwhelmed easy, you may want to try getting him or her to choose between two things. It seems to give them a sense of independence and it lessens the chaos by having a set number of variables.
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