5 Attention Grabbers Every Parent Should Know

--By Brad Kayden, Youth Sports Instructor

1. Build Rapport 1st, Deliver Demands 2nd-   

Ask simple, open-ended questions and then<u> listen</u>.  The few minutes of extra time spent doing this each day will save you hours in frustration every week. 

1. Loosen Up

Yell, sing, dance, laugh, make faces, lay high fives; basically be a kid again.  This will build respect for you in your child’s mind. 

1. Speak their Language

Avoid speaking down to children.  Role play and begin speaking to them as a child would speak to another.  How you say things and what you say often dictates children’s focus.         

1. Use Word Art

Your child’s mind is a canvas; regularly fill it with colorfully imaginative words.  Use made up words and crazy words like pickle juice and koo-koo bananas. 

Remember to do this other than when you want something from them as well.  

1. Build Anticipation

Discuss the plan-of-the-day.  This easy one-on-one parenting time children cherish.  It is here they feel your love, stop fighting you and can focus, with your help, on where the fun in the day begins and ends.         

Finally it should go unsaid but as adults, we must set good examples and demonstrate good listening skills and focus ourselves.  See you in class!