My kid was THAT kid

MrsCodeMonkey

We went to a mommy and me art class at the Y today after my work-out. DD couldn't sit still at all. The other kids listened nicely, while mine whined and tried to leave.

I tried time-out outside and when I brought her back in it got worse. We had to leave. Everyone was staring at us.

Before the art activity the instructor read a long book. My DD couldn't pay attention. The other kids were older, but I couldn't help but compare. How do I teach my DD to sit still and wait?

It was supposed to be a fun thing for us and it ended in tears.

ASmallWonder

It's a learned skill, the sitting and listening.  Unfortunately, for them to learn means subjecting ourselves to many outings where it doesn't work until it finally clicks.  Besides a few sanctimommies, people probably weren't staring because you had THAT kid but because they were relieved it wasn't them

NativeFloridian

At that age children still haven't really developed their centers for self-control and patience.  It takes a period in the development of their brains that just hasn't happened yet.

MrsCodeMonkey

elmoali said:

It's a learned skill, the sitting and listening.  Unfortunately, for them to learn means subjecting ourselves to many outings where it doesn't work until it finally clicks.  Besides a few sanctimommies, people probably weren't staring because you had THAT kid but because they were relieved it wasn't them

Yeah, the looks they gave me were sympathtic. I apologized to the instructor and she said to come back.

LaurelBee

Keep trying, it'll get better each time you go. I went to a mommy n me music class with Ds when he was that age. It was a mess the 1st couple weeks, but one day he slowly started to follow directions and listen! It's a learned thing, she'll get it.

mrs.schmitty

This is hard. We've been going to story time at the library and the first few times I was really stressed trying to get him to sit and listen until I realized most of the other kids his age were having a hard time too and that there parents kind of just letting them do their thing. I felt like once I stopped stressing so much, it got better and we both enjoyed it more. Now he'll sit for most of it but he still gets up occasionally and plays which I let him as long as he is not distracting the other kids. I feel like at this age they are still learning and most people understand that.

MrsCodeMonkey

Darbie914 said:

I can 100% relate.  We took our niece, nephew, and DD to an open gym this past weekend.  My niece and nephew had a blast.  DD?  She was whining, cried when someone tried playing with her, cried when I played with her, and cried when I walked away.  We did several time outs as well but the whole time I was thinking, "why won't she just play and have fun like the other kids?"

It's just a phase...or so I'm told.

We've been doing activities like story time since she was 3 months old. She had a much better time last year. I don't know how much I want to push her to do these "fun" things.

It's no fun for me to deal with her in public and if she's not enjoying it why bother? At the same time, we tend to get cabin fever if we're stuck at home for too long. Plus, socializing is good for her. I just wish I knew how to turn off the whines and get my sweet kid back.