The Co-operation Trick

You're not alone if your family has been on and off sick (mostly on) since late October!

After another trip to the doctor this week, I was given the standard prescription of rest and fluids for my oldest.

However, once we got home and I started making dinner, the typical snack requests started 😐😐😐

For an adult, it seems like such a simple solution to just wait 30 minutes for dinner. But for young children, who live in the moment, 30 minutes minutes can feel like a lifetime.

Luckily, I spotted the bag of oranges in the fridge and suggested we work together to make some fresh squeezed orange juice - he got in plenty of fluids (once I diluted it with a bit of water), it filled him up enough while I made dinner, and everyone was happy.

By encouraging participation and ownership in a solution, I was able to gain his cooperation a lot more easily.

(side note: he's always so proud when he makes himself a glass of juice and usually insists on making one for me too. I'm almost convinced making orange juice could solve half our problems 😆)

This idea of working collaboratively on a solution with children is one you'll see come up in many of the popular parenting books:

• How To Talk so Little Kids Will Listen by Joanna Faber and Julie King
• Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn
• The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel Siegel

And it's a huge component of the Montessori approach - respecting our children enough to listen and work with them on finding a solutions that work for everyone.

Why? Because it works - not always and not perfectly but it does work.

This approach can help with:

1. Picky eating - have your child help with food prep to encourage trying new foods
2. Getting dressed - have them pick out their own clothes or choose between a few options
3. Routines - have them decide what order things are done - should we do X or Y first?

So next time your little one is in need of fluids and rest, see if they're up for making orange juice together before you have to resort to pedialyte!