My Children Are Out Of Control During Dinner Time
One specific thing that works wonder against chaos is predictability.
It is important to establish a set time for diner.
Pick a particular time and have your meals everyday at that time.
If you are ten minutes earlier or later then that specific time it is ok.
You can give your self a ten minute window.
However, you must not go longer then those ten minutes.
If you do you are straying to far from your established time.
Consistency and predictability help your child know what comes next.
This helps them shift their mind set from playing, homework time to dinner time mode.
This however happens with time and is not a one day process so stick to it each day.
Another adjustment to make when creating an effective dinner time routine is the length of the dinner.
Although, most grown ups enjoy dinners that are over a half hour long children are not designed to withstand them.
It is unrealistic to expect any child to sit still for such a long amount of time.
Dinner times involving children should range from 10-15 minutes tops.
Anything longer then that will be a set up and they will become bored and misbehave.
It is also important that both parents are sitting at the dinner time before everyone starts eating.
In most homes the rest of the family begins to eat while the mom is doing some finishing touches on a plate or carrying things over to the table.
It is imperative that you model the behavior you want your children to learn.
It is very difficult for children to understand why they have to sit on a table while there is still someone walking around during dinner time.
Therefore finish setting up and placing everything on the table before anyone starts eating.
Lastly, when your children are cooperating and being polite to one another during your meal times mention it to them.
Let them know exactly what they are doing correctly.
For example let them know if they asked for the salt in a polite way.
Acknowledge if they are eating neatly or sitting down calmly.
It is easy to notice your child's actions when they are misbehaving but praising good actions will encourage more of the good ones.
The suggestions in this article should make your dinner time run smoother and be more enjoyable.
It is important to establish a set time for diner.
Pick a particular time and have your meals everyday at that time.
If you are ten minutes earlier or later then that specific time it is ok.
You can give your self a ten minute window.
However, you must not go longer then those ten minutes.
If you do you are straying to far from your established time.
Consistency and predictability help your child know what comes next.
This helps them shift their mind set from playing, homework time to dinner time mode.
This however happens with time and is not a one day process so stick to it each day.
Another adjustment to make when creating an effective dinner time routine is the length of the dinner.
Although, most grown ups enjoy dinners that are over a half hour long children are not designed to withstand them.
It is unrealistic to expect any child to sit still for such a long amount of time.
Dinner times involving children should range from 10-15 minutes tops.
Anything longer then that will be a set up and they will become bored and misbehave.
It is also important that both parents are sitting at the dinner time before everyone starts eating.
In most homes the rest of the family begins to eat while the mom is doing some finishing touches on a plate or carrying things over to the table.
It is imperative that you model the behavior you want your children to learn.
It is very difficult for children to understand why they have to sit on a table while there is still someone walking around during dinner time.
Therefore finish setting up and placing everything on the table before anyone starts eating.
Lastly, when your children are cooperating and being polite to one another during your meal times mention it to them.
Let them know exactly what they are doing correctly.
For example let them know if they asked for the salt in a polite way.
Acknowledge if they are eating neatly or sitting down calmly.
It is easy to notice your child's actions when they are misbehaving but praising good actions will encourage more of the good ones.
The suggestions in this article should make your dinner time run smoother and be more enjoyable.
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