Imagine all the people...
…living life in peace without screaming, yelling, or crying children. 😂
Image by Mabel Amber from PixelBay
Earlier I wrote about the problem-idea framework. In that post, I alluded to the power of imagination (e.g. swimming up the stairs). Imagination can be one of our best friends when talking with children—it just takes practice and patience, both of which I’m still working on.
Last week, my daughter was getting ready for the day and decided she wasn’t ready to change out of her pajamas and into her clothes.
“I don’t want to change”, she said.
I’ve been here before I thought, and when I’m frustrated or tired, I resort to some less-than-ideal parenting behavior. Luckily, I was feeling good.
I thought to myself that the problem-idea framework didn’t feel like a great fit. That’s when I harnessed the power of imagination.
“What if I throw the clothes at you, and they magically appear on your body?”
She smiled, “Yes, let’s do that!”
I threw her shirt at her, gently of course. The shirt hit the ground. It didn’t work.
“Hm, that didn’t work,” I said. “Let me try again, but this time, I’ll close my eyes and count to ten.”
I throw the shirt with my other hand over my eyes (so I could peek), and start counting very slowly, “1……….2………3………”.
When I reached ten, I opened my eyes and she was wearing her shirt.
“It worked! Magic!” I exclaimed.
She was beaming and excited for the next iteration.
After more throwing of clothes and more counting (a total of 2-3 minutes), she was fully dressed and both of us were in a good mood as we started the day.
This approach has worked more than once since then, though I’m sure I’ll need to get more creative in the future.