5 Attention Grabbers Every Parent Should Know

1. Build Rapport First, Deliver Demands Second
   Before yelling, screaming and getting things off on the wrong foot, try listening first. Kids fight for your attention every day. I have found kids listen better after they feel heard, better yet loved. Build rapport by asking simple, open-ended question and then listen. A few minutes of extra time spent doing this each day will save you hours in frustration.
   


2. Loosen Up
   Everyone is a child in a child's mind. Remember, children have expectations of you, too. Yell, sing, dance, laugh, make faces, lay high fives; basically be a kid again. This will build respect for you in your child’s mind.
   


3. Speak their Language
   Replace times of frustration with time to think about how you will handle a difficult sitatuation differently next time. As a youth coach, I constantly self-evaluate and improve my ways; otherwise, I will get burned out. I believe parenting requires the same. Ironically, I often find that I cause my own problems. More times than not, my coaching difficulties stem from explaining things more from an adult's perspective than a child's. How you say things and what you say is very important when working with children.
   


4. Paint a Picture
   Your child’s mind is a canvas; regularly fill it with imaginative words that create pictures on which they can focus and enjoy. For example, I love using silly words like pickle juice and koo-koo bananas. A smile is usually enough to tell if you've captured their attention.
   


5. Build Anticipation
   Discuss the plan-of-the-day with your children. This is important because there are no surprises or false hopes built in a kid's mind. Kids are impressionable and focus on the fun in whatever it is they will be doing. One final point is always use fun as a negotiating point, not a means for manipulation. Fun is what gets their attention quickest. If they resent fun, you have lost the ability to gain their focus.
   

It should go unsaid, but as adults, if we expect good listening skills and focus from children we must be prepared to demonstrate these qualities ourselves.

See you in class!

Copyright © 2007 by Bradley J. Kayden. All Rights Reserved.