A few months ago the children had their swim lesson. They were all suited up and ready for the pool. The girl in the session right before us got sick in the pool. The swim instructor cleaned up the mess, but I didn't feel comfortable sending the children into the water. I told them we would skip the lesson and their reaction was not a good one. My friend was their with her children, who were actually in the lesson when the girl got sick, and they were upset that their lesson was ending early. I had to change the momentum of the situation or I was going to be in for a long afternoon. I decided I would take the kids for ice cream even though it was almost dinnertime. We would stop for ice cream and just eat dinner a little later. This small gesture lifted their spirits. They excitedly changed into their clothes and invited their friends to join us. It really ended up being a great afternoon.
This week we went to a movie. Over the summer, they have older movies playing for a dollar. My son has been asking to see all of the new releases, but I figure spend $3 or $30? It's a no brainer. We went to see the dollar movie, ParaNorman. We hadn't seen it before and it ended up being very dark and scary at times. At one point, my son asked if we could leave because he was scared. As we were leaving he was upset asking why we just didn't go see the new release instead. He had a point. I changed the subject. As we were walking out I saw a photo booth where we could take silly pictures together. I asked my children if they wanted to do it and they got excited. We took pictures and left the theater on a better note.
photos we took as we were leaving the movies
When things happen beyond your control and the children react in ways that can cause stress and frustration you just might have to change the subject. You have nothing to lose. Have you ever needed to use this tactic to get through a stressful situation? How did it work for you?
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