Redirecting Your Child's Activities
After your child has learned how to "self-quiet" or calm down on her own, she needs to learn how to redirect her attention and change activities. Waiting until after a child knows how to calm herself down is critical because if your child cannot quiet herself, she will never be able to redirect.
What is redirecting?
"Redirecting" is when you encourage your child to change her activity. If it is done when a child is calm or just after she has calmed down, it can be very effective in teaching the child to change activities on her own, without your help.
Step 1. Look for a time when your child has been playing with one toy or doing one activity for a while. If you sense that she may be just about finished with that activity or that she may be getting frustrated with it, it's a perfect time to work on teaching her how to redirect her before she gets frustrated.
Step 2. Begin by gradually joining the activity, either by playing with the child or by talking to her while she is playing.
Step 3. Try substituting another toy or activity that you know the child might easily become interested in. This way, she will begin to learn how to redirect from one activity to another.
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