First of all, let’s look at a definition of patience. It is defined as the ability to tolerate a delay without becoming angry or upset. And don’t we know well that toddlers are very emotional beings. They don’t care to nor do they know how to hide their emotions. Especially when they are told to wait. They have no concept of time and anything you suggest will be too long and will cause a meltdown.
We live in an “on demand” world where we play the show we want, rewind, forward, pause, even pay to not have commercial breaks. We order online packages and they get delivered the next day. We are demonstrating to our children that waiting isn’t necessary a lot of the times as we are living in a very efficient world. Therefore it is even harder to then try to teach them to wait!Keep in mind that teaching them to be patient is a gradual process that will eventually work as they mature and have a better understanding of what is expected. In the mean time, to help you manage until then, we have compiled a list of suggestions on what to do:
- Have Realistic Expectations. Like with everything your child. Always be realistic and follow their cues. If they are too tired, didn’t sleep well, it is not the time to be teaching them patience. Their focus won’t be in it and you won’t have the tolerance.
- Play Waiting Games. Especially when driving and you are constantly hearing: “Are we there yet?”. Come up with fun challenges to help them stay entertained and forget about the anticipation to get there. And screen time can be helpful but try to limit it. Your child’s imagination is a very useful tool to rely on when playing games.
- The hardest one to suggest is definitely to Display Patience. Think long and hard and evaluate your own patience. Do they see you act patient or in a rush, agitated, not very calm about things ? You are their role model. They are always watching you and will mimic how you act in certain situations.
And lastly, be patient with yourself as teaching your children is a tough yet most rewarding job. Their achievements, no matter how small, are your largest ones. Make sure your praise them when they do good, especially for example, in a long line at the grocery store. That is one most common place to teach patience.
