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this week i have a few goals:
the thing is, amelia has a hard time playing by herself when adeline isn't here. amelia is excellent at parallel play; it keeps her wonderfully occupied to play beside adeline. but alone...she just gets bored. maybe b/c she has the attention span of a gnat?! seriously, 1 page into the book & she throws it aside, looking for another one. the only time we get a full book in is at nap & bed times. & then she's so tired that she's mostly asleep.
right now i'm typing away--it's a good thing i can type fast--as amelia is throwing her snack everywhere (another good thing: a dog who likes to eat thrown aside snack food, aka cereal). anyway, so the deal is every time amelia tries to climb onto the chair i give a stern but kind 'no no amelia, time to play' & take her to a toy, get her interested, then a few minutes later i walk away. *sigh* this is going to take forever. i have lost hope.
ARGH. a millie monster is in full tantrum mode. this goal is going to be a difficult one. so all this to say: don't anticipate a flood of blogging or internet chat from me for a few weeks. heck, for a year? how long will it take for this milligan to get that the computer desk is not her playground? ideas?
- teach amelia that the computer desk is *NOT* her toy area
the thing is, amelia has a hard time playing by herself when adeline isn't here. amelia is excellent at parallel play; it keeps her wonderfully occupied to play beside adeline. but alone...she just gets bored. maybe b/c she has the attention span of a gnat?! seriously, 1 page into the book & she throws it aside, looking for another one. the only time we get a full book in is at nap & bed times. & then she's so tired that she's mostly asleep.
right now i'm typing away--it's a good thing i can type fast--as amelia is throwing her snack everywhere (another good thing: a dog who likes to eat thrown aside snack food, aka cereal). anyway, so the deal is every time amelia tries to climb onto the chair i give a stern but kind 'no no amelia, time to play' & take her to a toy, get her interested, then a few minutes later i walk away. *sigh* this is going to take forever. i have lost hope.
- read most of the adrenal fatigue book.
ARGH. a millie monster is in full tantrum mode. this goal is going to be a difficult one. so all this to say: don't anticipate a flood of blogging or internet chat from me for a few weeks. heck, for a year? how long will it take for this milligan to get that the computer desk is not her playground? ideas?
7 comments:
First of all, the nickname Milligan -- LOVE.
Secondly, we've had some luck getting The Boy to play by himself by asking him play with his stuffed animals -- read to them, build blocks with them, etc. Might not work with a kid who's had a real playmate in a sibling, but might be worth a shot.
This is the same thing asher, our cat, does when we're on the computer. jumps up on the keyboard, worms his way into our laps and/or sits and stands right in front of the screen to block our view. or meows at us like we're the worst people in the world for taking time to use the computer
Our solution: a very firm no and shove to the ground, then the SQUIRT BOTTLE. it works wonders for training cats and millie's behaviors are pretty similar...
I really like Kristi's answer!
The funniest thing I have seen in a long time, is Millie playing with her old, unplugged keyboard like it's her million dollar toy; THEN pulling it around the house by its plug like its her favorite pet or something.....I think she even talks to it.
The second funniest was the day I was with her there, I kept pulling the chair a little further from the computer table to discourage her access, and I finally found her stretched out straight as a board, still trying to tap the keys. Her toes were curled, gripping the very edge of the chair, and the fingers on her one hand curled over the edge of the table while she was reaching with the other, not even able to see because she had to look directly at the floor in this position, but still reaching with her fingers to get to the keyboard....
Maybe she wants her own blog, mum.
Audrey does the same thing, on my lap, then trying to type, trying to get on the desk, grabbing every random thing in sight. I've given up trying to get on the computer unless she is already pre-occupied in another room or asleep. Otherwise we just both end up cranky at each other.
What if you kept something she doesn't like to eat nearby and offer her a bite every time she climbs up? :) That'd get me looking elsewhere!
No reduced blogging. I need the distraction! Em interupts me too...I am with Beck on this one...real distraction and then blog. Elmo's World is irresistible to Emily.
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