I think it is finally safe to say that the warmth and sunshine are here to stay for the summer months in Buffalo! This, of course, means it is time for trips to the playground for parents and their children. During a recent visit to the playground I witnessed the all too familiar scene of well-meaning parents struggling to get their child to come down from the slide and into the car. If you are lucky enough to not know what I’m referring to, it usually goes something like this:
Father to child, “Joe we have to go. Come down from the slide.”
Child appears to not hear parent and continues to happily frolic about the shiny plastic playground which has multiple, varied means of exiting making it nearly impossible for the parent to catch up with the child.
The parent chases after the child repeating over and over, “Let’s go.”
This chasing starts to look like a game, particularly because the child seems to be getting such a kick out of the parent chasing him/her around.
However, the more smiling and laughing exhibited by the child, the more anger and frustration exhibited by the parent. Parent continues, "Let's go," but now his/her voice is getting louder and generally there is some (usually empty) threat included, "LET'S GO OR YOU'RE GONNA GET A SPANKING!" Or the infamous, "IF YOU DON'T GET IN THE CAR NOW WE ARE LEAVING WITHOUT YOU!"
Trying to get your child off the playground and into the car can turn typically reasonable individuals into screaming, threatening balls of frustration! Here are some tips for dealing with this difficult situation:
Plan Ahead: discuss with your child the rules for the outing and how long you will be at the playground so the expectations are clear ahead of time. Make sure to talk with your child before you arrive at the playground or s/he will likely be too excited to really pay attention to what you're saying.
Use Transitional Warnings: remind your child 5 minutes before you need to leave and again at 1 minute so s/he is not caught off guard when it is time to go.
Use Consequences: talk with your child before you go to the playground about a positive consequence for following the rules, ("If you come with me the first time I tell you we have to leave, I will take you back to the playground next week") and a negative consequence for disobeying the rules, ("If you don’t come with me by the time I count to 10, then you will not have a snack before bed").
Taking a few minutes to plan ahead and talk with your child before you head to the playground (or a family picnic or a trip to the movies) can make a world of difference in how smoothly the outing goes. And that makes the summer months and their related activities all the more enjoyable for parents and kids alike!
