The parenting issue: "My toddler cannot entertain himself"

28 Mar 2024Updated: 4 hours ago | 52 people are reading

The parenting issue:

& # 169; iStock Photo for illustration

As crazy as she is about her four-year-old daughter, editor Anne Broekman does not always have the ability to entertain her all day. How does she teach her to entertain herself?

Before I get piles of hate mail: of course I play with my toddler. I clay, paint and iron myself. But my daughter prefers me to do everything with her all day. Playing with the Barbies, jumping on the trampoline, messing around in her play kitchen and even going to the toilet, she prefers to do it with me. But to be honest: I don't want to entertain her all the time. I would like her to learn how to entertain herself a little more, but how do I do that?

I get advice from Dave Niks of The Family Psychologist and ask him if I might expect too much from my daughter: " Children understand more than you think - if you step into their world of experience and talk at their level, you can really make agreements - even with a four-year-old - tell her that you will play with her first, but then that she will have to do it herself Make it concrete by setting a timer or kitchen timer. "

" Give your child that she will be bored once "

Shouting randomly that your child 'only has to do something for itself' will do little good to the dyke put. It is better to come up with a few suggestions. But sometimes children are in a mood that they don't want to do anything. In that case, no man is overboard either, says psychologist Niks: "Allow your child to be bored once. A child that is bored must think about what it really wants to do. By constantly putting everything on as a parent reach out, you deprive your child of the creativity to come up with something, so give your child the opportunity to discover. "

'Don't underestimate children, they will feel you perfectly'

Playing yourself won't immediately Dave Niks warns: "But after a couple of times a child will understand what the intention is. You can also build it up: for example, you start with fifteen minutes in which your child has to do something for himself, and that further develop and start the conversation Explain why you would like to have some time for yourself as well Your child also benefits from this: after all, after all, you probably feel like and have the energy again to have fun together Do not underestimate children, they feel perfectly if you w el really likes to play with the dolls or lego. "