a peek inside the fishbowl

05 Feb, 2008

Looking for …

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Misc. life

… parents to interview for an article for Canadian Family magazine.

Here’s the pitch:

The article is for parents with kids who are between 9 and 12.

I’m not going to say it again.

The TV is on and it’s time to head to school. “Please put on your clothes,” you say walking back into the kitchen. “It’s time for school.” Five minutes later your son is still standing there, slack-jawed, watching the tube — and the clothes are sitting in a pile beside him. “Please put on your clothes. You have to leave in 10 minutes.” No response. Twelve minutes later, you’re yelling, he’s sticking his feet into his pants and glaring — and you’re thinking, “Why doesn’t he listen?” School-age kids ignore their parents for a whole host of reasons. They’re distracted, they don’t want to do what you say or they want to see how you react. This column talks about why kids ignore and how to change the behaviour in a positive way. No yelling required.
Does this apply to you or someone you know?

Let me know if this sounds like you and I’ll pass your name along to the writer. 
 


5 Responses to "Looking for …"

1 | Lala

February 5th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

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I say ” good luck little pig” to that. It’s been an uphill battle to get Jack to get ready for school and he’s 15. I guess it’s the autism……not always bad parenting.

2 | porter

February 5th, 2008 at 5:30 pm

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I can relate and mine aren’t that age yet…looking forward to the article as I’m hoping I can learn some tips

3 | The Veggie Vixen

February 6th, 2008 at 8:28 am

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You’re writing an article for Cdn Living? Wonderful!

4 | Mama V

February 6th, 2008 at 8:48 am

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That’s totally my son, besides the fact that we now don’t allow him to watch TV in the mornings before school for simply that reason! Mind you, other times of day can be equally as difficult. Doesn’t it have something to do with that Y chromosome and selective hearing?

5 | scatteredmom

February 7th, 2008 at 5:23 pm

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I qualify for this one :) My son is 12.

He’s also got some attentional issues, dyspraxia (takes him longer to get dressed) and ya, he’d rather be doing his own thing. But getting him ready can be frustrating, too.

We’ve come up with some strategies, otherwise I’d lose my mind.
1. We have a very set routine in the morning
2. no tv until he’s fulfilled specific criteria
3. I watch how I give directions…short, sweet, to the point.
4. I give him LOTS of time and instead of nagging, I will say, “We’re leaving in 10 minutes!” etc.

You can e-mail me Andrea if you want more detail notesfromthecookiejar(at)yahoo(dot)ca

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