Waiting For My Turn

We live in a fast-paced society. With the advancements in technology, even adults yearn for everything to go faster. We don’t ever want to wait! “I just sent that e-mail, why has she not responded yet?” The funny thing is that it has only been ten minutes!

This scenario offers you a glimpse of how children see things today. Just like everyone else, they don’t want to wait. They want everything immediately and exactly as they expect it to be. But if your children are to be taught properly about relating with others, they have to learn to be patient and to take turns (and consequently, to wait for their own turn).

As you most probably know, children can get egocentric. Everything is about them. More often than not, they find difficulty in seeing things from another person’s perspective. They fail to realize that their behavior affects others, and that they have to start showing some empathy as a result.

As a parent, you can help encourage the development of social skills by exposing your child to other children and training them to be comfortable in group settings. Arrange a play date with another child, or else enroll your child in a class with his or her peers. Working with peers will reinforce the importance of sharing and taking turns. Everyone doesn’t need to be first all the time, and neither can everyone go all at the same time! Since they are bound to imitate what they see, take full advantage and be a model of kind and helpful behaviors instead. Explain the importance of taking turns and waiting patiently. Praise your kids whenever they practice what they have learned from you.

This is what happened when my daughter was three years old: a boy cut through the line and went straight in front of her as we were waiting to use the swing at the playground. He had pushed her so hard she fell down. While she was on the ground, the swing then vacated and the boy grabbed it quickly. My daughter was devastated, but we also took time right then and there to talk about what she felt after the boy cut through the line.  As the days and months went on, that situation would often be brought up whenever she tried exercising patience and waiting for her turn. Called teachable moments, these learning experiences help kids make sense of lessons in a better way. In short, they make learning more vivid and meaningful.