"Giving Directions: What Would You Do?" Activity Scenario 3
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Your child continues to play with his toy, even after you know you have his attention and you give a simple and specific direction.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
You say, "If you don't put away your fire truck, you will go to time out." Your child still doesn’t follow your directions. You say, "Dinner is getting cold. Just go to the table".
This is a good option if you can follow through with the time out that you warned will occur. If you are not able to follow through with a time out, it would be better to choose another consequence that you can do like taking the toy away for the rest of the day. Try another choice.
You pick him up and take him directly to the kitchen table.
Your child is at the table, but he did not do what you asked. He may learn that he can ignore your directions. Try another choice.
You say, "If you don’t put away your fire truck, I will take it away for the rest of the day." Your child still doesn't follow your directions. You take the toy and say, "Because you didn't put the truck away like I told you, you lose the toy for the rest of the day."
This is a good choice. You are issuing a warning and letting your child know what will happen if he doesn't follow your direction and then you followed through with the consequence. Watch this clip to hear an expert talk about the importance of following through with consequences.
- Page last reviewed: April 24, 2013
- Page last updated: April 24, 2013
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