Please tell me I’m not the only one who grew up helping this woman wrangle Cuccos?
It can be hard when our kids seem to forget things that we have said over and over again, especially with things like routines or expectations.
But if we nag them, or tell them why they have to remember, that isn’t necessarily going to help.
Instead, we can try to be more like a video game; correct the behavior by simply reminding them of the expectation.
Video games do this all the time. If you show up with the wrong number of stars, the wrong item, or something else, the game will simply restate the expectation. A character may playfully chastise you, but the game won’t punish you in most cases.
Instead, the expectation serves as a corrective for your behavior; “6 of my Cuccos are still missing!” as opposed to “why are you talking to me? I told you, you have to find all my Cuccos!”
So, if we notice our child is grabbing their iPad when they should first be packing their lunch, we can correct by reminding them of the expectation. This could sound like:
“iPad is available once your lunch is packed”
“What has to happen before the iPad is available?”
“Oh you already packed your lunch? That was fast!”
It could also look like checking to see if they’ve packed their lunch already, before giving feedback.
And depending on the stakes of the situation, we could choose to do nothing and allow them to face a natural consequence. That can also be a learning opportunity to ask them what they need to do differently or what support they need to meet that expectation.
