Time for a behaviour change.

Imagine knowing something BIG is going to happen but not knowing when? Imagine someone tells you you're going somewhere tomorrow but you don't know what tomorrow means or when it'll get here?!

Time is an abstract concept and not only do our children struggle to understand the words like 'next week' or 'tomorrow', they also don't understand how time moves, what 5 minutes, an hour or a day feels like or how they all add up.

Understandably, this can lead to them feeling out of control. Even anticipating exciting things can cause stress because they can't work out when that thing will get here.

VISUALS can really help your child understand the passage of time - just like it helps adults. Adults use the clock as a visual to help us understand the time.

In this video you can see August (nearly 5) crossing off days until his Daddy comes home from England. He was really missing Daddy and I knew that if I could help him understand the passage of days in a countdown (like an advent calendar) - he could feel more in control and like he knew what was happening. I know for sure that this put him at ease and improved aspects of his behaviour.

VISUALS YOU COULD TRY:
⏳Sand timer (can also get as an app) for minute counting
🕛Looking at numbers on the clock and telling your child whst will happen when the little or big hands reach a point
🗓️Mark a day on a calendar and help your child to cross off the days counting down
🖊️Draw as many boxes and number of days in your countdown and cross one off every morning.

⚠️⚠️the important point with any children's visuals is that you talk about them often (even if they seem disinterested) and that they're actually viable - at your child's height so they can interact with them.

Do you use any visuals for time? Comment your ideas to help other families, or share this post with a friend.

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Watch the full reel here