Each month I want to ask my visitors a question.
Lately, I've been trying to find different ways to distract Chase. His parents work from home and we avoid coming in the house through the back door which leads right to their offices. We always come in and out through the front of the house but some days Chase decides he wants to use the back door. I try my hardest, however, not to use it. Not even "just this one time" because once always turns into all the time with young kiddies. I usually tell him, "Oh no, the door is locked. We HAVE to use the front door to get it." Whether the door is locked or not, after a few minutes he finally gives in.
This month's question:
How do YOU distract your tiny toddlers when they are persistently trying to do something you do not want them to do?
I have had a lot of experience with babysitting. I have a much younger brother and I have had many babysitting jobs. This is constantly a problem for me as well! What I do depends on the exact age level of the child. Toddlers usually enjoy positive reinforcement. This means whenever the child does a desirable behavior, they are given something as a reward. I have two families that I babysit regularly for. I gave each child in the families a small index card. I had them write their name on the index card and decorate them however they wanted. When they do something good or listen to me, I give them a sticker. When they have ten stickers, I let them pick out a present from my "magical bag". In this bag I have about ten different toys (cheap ones from the dollar store). They are extremely excited when they are able to cash in their stickers for a prize. So, the stickers serve as a distraction to the toddlers. When they are doing something bad I pull out the stickers and they immediately start to do the right thing!
ReplyDelete- Chelsea Aceti
Hi Lindsey! I love this blog, I'm actually a babysitter myself to two boys, Zane and Cole, and I absolutely adore them. It is sometimes difficult to have toddlers do what they are supposed to do because we all know, they have a mind of their own and they do not like to listen. When I finally have enough, I sit them down and explain to them that I am their babysitter and what they are doing is wrong. I explain to them I am in charge, and if they do not listen they can't do all the fun things they want to do and have to be in time out. For the kids I babysit it usually works because they can't imagine doing nothing!
ReplyDeleteI babysit very often and also work with two year olds! It can be very challenging at times to get them to do simple tasks such as eating, or putting them down for a nap. I have found that if you make these tasks into games and just stay positive with the children they seem to do the right thing. I also have come across using something called a stress bottle. This is a water bottle full of crayon shavings, glitter, and water. When the children do not listen they shake the bottle so everything mixes up. After awhile the crayon shavings float to the top and the glitter sinks to the bottom. I have come to realize after them watching the objects split, they tend to relax and end of doing the tasks they were supposed too be doing!
ReplyDeleteHi Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteI worked as a nanny for a family for about four years while I was going to community college but when I transfered to Rutgers it didn't fit in my life anymore. I understand your frustration about distraction methods for toddlers- because you constantly need to find new ways. Toddlers are smart savvy little people who are extremely driven to do whatever they want. I used to give the children I worked with rewards for their good behavior or I would say to one child "that I loved their behavior". Most of the time the social praise thing worked but other times I would used rewards like going to the play ground or somewhere to bribe them to behave. I think that working with toddlers is challenging but you seem to be a very creative person. Good luck and have fun.
I have been babysitting for as long as I can remember. The family I babysit for the most has an almost-3-year-old girl and a boy who just turned 2. I can totally relate to your tiny toddlers trouble! Usually my issue stems from the boy, Hunter, when he misses his mommy. He will go to the laundry room door which leads to the garage where his mother left from. He will keep going back to the door again and again. My trick is just to be as energetic, exciting, and entertaining as I possibly can, so that his mind stays off missing his mom. I always come prepared with activities to do and a plan to (somewhat) follow. This way we're not just sitting watching the TV or playing with the same toys over and over.
ReplyDeleteI have been babysitting for a very long time and while I absolutely love it and being around children, there are definitely days that my little ones are persistent in doing something that I do not want them to do. This summer, I did a lot of over night babysitting stays and it seemed that every time it was bed time all of a sudden one of the kids had to go to the bathroom, had a tummy ache, needed a drink, and as you know the list goes on and on! To prevent this, I would start to get them ready for bed twenty minutes before their actual bed time, so after all of their excuses ran out, they would actually be getting to bed at their scheduled time.
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