If Only I Had Super Powers...

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Therapy Thursday: Why oh why does she cry, cry, cry!

Ever had to deal with this?


Photo by blondie478

Or this?


Photo by chade2112

Or this?


Photo by Phenomenal Phrank

Yah. Me neither.

But if this were ever to become an extremely frequent issue for your precocious 3 year old preschooler, you might get desperate and feel like you can no longer handle it.

And you might implement positive behavior supports to help her the child visualize behaviors throughout the day.

You might print up a regular daily schedule with pictures, slip it into a sheet protector, and hang on the fridge with a dry erase marker.


Picture 1

Good behavior during each part of the day equals happy face written on the chart.

And each happy face equals chocolate milk/jelly bean/toy out of time-out-box.

Which might lead to a lot more of this:


Photo by carf

And that I can handle.

30 comments:

Nap Warden said...

Seems like a good idea...I will have to get back to you on if it works in this house;)

Kacey R. said...

Um, I'm beginning to think you have my house bugged. This is great for the {almost} 3 year old in my house.

Any thoughts on the TWO 16 month olds??? Anything? Anything at all? :D

Rachel@just another day in paradise said...

we had the all-out temper tantrum this morning because my 2-year-old wanted to go to school. . .You can not reason with a 2-year-old.

Meg said...

Oh my, our house revolves around our activity schedule. If I don't have it arranged by the time the kids get up, I'll find all kinds of things filled in, like swimming, going to the zoo, going on an airplane, etc. You know, everyday activities, LOL!

Love the idea of the happy face fill in though, might have to find a way to incorporate that.

jen said...

http://www.dltk-cards.com/chart/

a good source for easy to plug in therapy charts.

then again ... so nice to have a copy of boardmaker in your office too.

16 month olds (from your comment above...): reward MUST BE IMMEDIATE. they aren't quite at the i-can-wait-for-it-stage. in that case ... sometimes you have to ignore the wrong and over-the-top praise the right. just a suggestion.

Michelle said...

It is so easy to forget to reward positive behavior. :)

Anonymous said...

I've heard of that idea before and I'd love to see how it works in practice. It sounds like a stellar plan, really. Unfortunately I'm not sure how well it would work with Micah. And thankfully he's not really a kid that gets upset easily.

And my MIL's computer won't let me log in. GRRRR

Karen

Amazing_Grace said...

YAY! I only wish that more parents would take heed of your suggestions. :)

Can we do one for mom as well? If she does good behavior (doesn’t lash out at the kids, etc.) and gets enough smiley faces can she have a glass of wine? :)

sticky said...

We've recently discovered that AJ does much better with visual cues...but it's difficult to be sure just how to impliment such a thing. :)

Your ideas and the way you present them are great (except that -"duh, why could I think of that?" moment)

Thank you so much, you hit the nail on the head, again.

PS. I think it's an awsome idea for Moms too...the wine reward is perfect.

Green Girl in Wisconsin said...

I am so blessed--my sons are not the crying type. When they are it's either hunger or hurt or lack of sleep--so simple!

Mama Zen said...

At that age, my daughter had a terrible time with transitions. This kind of thing really helped!

johanna said...

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Noah's Mommy said...

fabulous....will have to remember this one....

Izzy 'N Emmy said...

Great advice! You have so many wonderful lessons, you must be the happiest mommy in the world! Not to mention a fabulous child.

Heather of the EO said...

You rock.

Now if you could do one entire post on the lying that starts in year three as well as the sneakiness. That would be great. I have no idea what to do. Thanks bunches.

Rebecca Ramsey said...

What cute kiddies!
Great idea.
Now I need a chart for teens!

Half Gaelic, Half Garlic! said...

Love the chart and the positive reinforcement....we are experienceing more of those little outbursts than normal.....I guess that is why they call it the terrible twos....but I am hearing three is worse...Can't be...can it?

Debbie said...

I have seen those faces - too many times:)

anglophilefootballfanatic.com said...

Maybe I'm tough, but faces of tantrums get a stern, "Do you want me to give you something to cry about," and then if that doesn't work a quick pop on the tush. That works.

Jennifer said...

Thank goodness we haven't had to deal with this, but if we ever do, I know where to turn!

MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...

I'm liking a lot more of THAT! :)

Trannyhead said...

That's a great idea! Positive reinforcement is totally hawt.

mamajil said...

We haven't had too much trouble with fits of crying which is pretty good considering the fact that there are 10 of them!! I can testify that the charts with pictures always work. Oh and the time out toy box.....works well as they get older(teens) and they leave things strung everywhere, school stuff, shoes, makeup bags....You get some hustle out of them and a sparkle Kitchen as they try to earn it all back :)
Great Post!

Sage Moonstone said...

YES.. The icons & the happy faces & the goody box.. IT ALL HELPS!!

But, you have to remember to do it!

:)

DysFUNctional Mom said...

My Princess, who is 8, seems to find something to cry about at least once every single day. I honestly think she likes to cry. She's a drama queen!

Threeboys1mommy said...

Oh no! That has never happened to me, thank you Coca Cola ;-)

tara @ kidz said...

Cute pictures! And that is a really great idea. =)

Danielle said...

haha...you are such a teacher!

Wifey Dessert said...

that sounds like a great idea!!! jelly beans to me sound like a great reward!! your blog rocks.. i love your banner :)

NICO Designs said...

Hurray for Michelle for being so honest! When I worked as a special education teacher it seemed to be so easy to be positive and search out the positive. But as a parent of two little ones...sometimes I just want to soak in the tub.

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