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Okay, so dcg (4) has a real struggle with attention/focus, keeping hands to herself, & some sensory issues. I'm having some behavior issues & I'd like to take some privileges away b/c right now I repeat myself on the same issues all day long, but I'm not sure about how to do that. Issue #1 she turns around in her seat constantly during meal time & refuses to sit on her bottom. She is a very messy eater who struggles because of both sensory & fine motor issues & when she turns around she gets food all over the wall, back of the chair, table, etc. Today after multiple reminders I finally said if she turned around again I would take the plate of food & she would be done. She did sit still & eat for a minute or 2, but then asked to be excused claiming she was done. Was that too harsh of me? I mean, I don't ever want to keep a child from eating, but 6 reminders in a single meal seems excessive to me. #2 She doesn't nap which is fine with me. My 2 non nappers rest for 20-30 minutes while the other kids go to sleep & then they get up & do preschool activities with me. The last couple days she's been messing with other kids during rest time, reaching across to poke them, sneaking toys into her nap mat w/her, etc. During preschool time she was putting glue all over things, writing on things she shouldn't, etc. I thought about saying if she bothers kids at nap she has to stay in bed, but that would be 2 hours of stress for me trying to keep her quiet. If she can't control herself during preschool time, is it unreasonable to have her lay on a mat & "rest" near me while other kids do preschool? If I do that, should I move her for a short time or take away preschool privileges for the whole day? Ugh. Why can't kids just behave?
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Also, I have tried to make her clean up her mess, but due to fine motor issues she smears it rather than cleaning it up. -
The key to reducing the behaviors (all of them) is to find out why she is engaging in them. For example, is she turning around at mealtimes over and over because she is a really distractible kid. If so, the best way to solve the problem is to significantly reduce distractions. Sit her in an area right next to you with as little behind her as possible. If she has someone on the other side of her, it should be the quietest kiddo in your group.
For nap & quiet time, you would go back to problem solving mode. Are you certain she understands the expectations of rest time? With a little one who is having that much difficulty, I almost always go back and start at square one. It's rest time. We are going to rest while our friends go to sleep then go to xyz. A visual timer might help her wait. I use a time timer mini (that's the name of it) that I bought on amazon for my kids that have a hard time waiting. It blinks yellow and then red when time is up.
For quiet activities, you mentioned she has sensory issues, maybe start her out with a sensory activity like homemade playdough or pom poms in a box.Comment
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