Experts are stating that just 5-minutes a day could improve your child’s listening ability. Parents everywhere can get incredibly frustrated when it feels like their children do not listen to them. That is until they start yelling. However, no parent wants to spend most of their time yelling.
They read all the mommy blogs, the parenting books and even speak to their child's doctor, but none of it seems to work. Just when mom feels like she is at the end of her rope, she may come across a hack, or a tip, that seems to work when nothing else does, and this maybe it.
According to NPR and Audacy, there is a 5-minute daily playtime ritual that can help children listen better. It starts with thinking about life from a child’s perspective, and that is the fact that they spend most of their day taking instructions given to them by the surrounding adults.
Child development and medical professionals state that if parents want to get their children to listen better, they need to have short, daily sessions of play that are led by the child, and the child alone. They call this “special time,” and it allows children to interact with their parents without the “stress” of having to constantly follow directions.
Roger Harrison, a pediatric psychologist, stated that what this does is build the bond between parent and child. As the relationship and bond between parent and child grow, it is more likely that the child is going to listen because they have placed value on what their parent is telling them.
The idea is very simple. For 5 minutes every single day, parents are to sit down with their child and join them in an activity. This activity could be anything, from crafts to dolls or cars. The only rule is that it has to be something that doesn’t have a “right or wrong” way to play.
Then all parents have to do is sit and play. Do not ask questions, or give commands to your child, just let your child be in charge. Mom may be great at getting everyone out of the house for school, or planning dinners or outings, but children are the experts when it comes to play and this is the time to let them shine, and let them take the lead. Research has shown that this method of play can be very beneficial in curbing negative behavior.