Often a no to the question “Mummy, look, can you buy me that thing?” ends up in a good tantrum in the shops… These situations are difficult for parents to deal with. Especially if you add to that the judgmental looks on your face about how you don’t know how to handle your child (you know what I mean??;)).
The best advice on the subject that helped me avoid big crises was given to me by CoolParentsMakeHappyKids. I’ll tell you their secret:
- Don’t say NO directly to the child. This avoids frustration. Be careful, this doesn’t mean that you will agree to the child’s request either.
- Show that you understand what the child is saying: “Oh, you’re right, that’s great”. Take the opportunity to discuss with him/her: “What do you like about this toy? What can you imagine doing with it?
- Offer a YES in the future: “We could put it on your list for Christmas” or “you could ask for it for your birthday”. In this way, the child projects himself with the toy without experiencing frustration.
Thanks to this method, my daughter, since she was 2 years old, tells me herself “look mummy, this toy is really nice, can we put it on Santa’s list?
A huge thank you to Coolparentsmakehappykids for this great advice applied daily and that works!
