Getting kids to play by themselves

Learn about: Getting kids to play by themselves from Nicole Hill, MA,...
Getting kids to play by themselves | Kids in the House
KidsInTheHouse the Ultimate Parenting Resource
Kids in the House Tour

Getting kids to play by themselves

Comment
99
Like
99
Transcription: 
My golden nugget parenting advise is to pay attention to your children while they're being good. If you wait until they're nagging or screaming or tantruming and then you have to intervene, you're going to end up increasing those negative behaviours. If you're a student or a working parent like I am and you just must absolutely have an hour or two to yourself, set up a child's obstacle course of activities. You need to divide the time that you need to yourself into 10 to 15 minute increments and set them on an activity that might take just that long. Then come in, swoop in to give them attention just at that time, about 10 to 15 minutes and they'll probably stay engaged much longer than if they were to get bored of the activity and come to seek out your attention. So you can keep them going, and going on this round of activities just by giving them attention incrementally.

Learn about: Getting kids to play by themselves from Nicole Hill, MA,...

Related Videos

Transcript

Expert Bio

More from Expert

Nicole Hill, MA

Behaviorist & Swim Instructor

Nicole Hill, Director of Autism Services and CEO of Brightwork ABA Therapy is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA).  Nicole has been working in the field of ABA since 2005.  She has a Master of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis, a BA in Speech Communication, and a minor in Spanish.

Nicole has a broad range of experience stemming from working with children from birth through high school in a variety of capacities for over 15 years.  Nicole specializes in working with young children on the autism spectrum and their families, with particular focus on  early intervention including FBA’s, BIP’s, verbal behavior, DTT, natural environment teaching, play skills, social skills, and parent training. 

Nicole originally began her work with special needs children in 1998 as a swim instructor for children who found learning to swim especially challenging.  With this experience, Nicole founded SwimFit Babies & Kids (swimfit.org), a program that uses techniques founded in ABA to teach swim techniques. 

She is an active member of Applied Behavior Analysis, International (ABAI) as well as California Association for Applied Behavior Analysis (CalABA).

More Parenting Videos from Nicole Hill, MA >
  Listen or Watch
Must See First Year Videos
Three important rules about your baby's first foods
First year milestones
Postnatal depression and loneliness advice
Baby losing interest in nursing
The importance of spending quality time during early childhood
Narrating an infant's environment
Research based benefits of co-sleeping
Bonding versus attachment
Bonding with your baby after a less-than-perfect birth
Preventing postpartum depression
Play All 34 Videos
Featured Experts: Alan Greene, MD, Lawrence Kagan, MD, Barbara Olinger, MSW
More Playlists >
Transcription: 
My golden nugget parenting advise is to pay attention to your children while they're being good. If you wait until they're nagging or screaming or tantruming and then you have to intervene, you're going to end up increasing those negative behaviours. If you're a student or a working parent like I am and you just must absolutely have an hour or two to yourself, set up a child's obstacle course of activities. You need to divide the time that you need to yourself into 10 to 15 minute increments and set them on an activity that might take just that long. Then come in, swoop in to give them attention just at that time, about 10 to 15 minutes and they'll probably stay engaged much longer than if they were to get bored of the activity and come to seek out your attention. So you can keep them going, and going on this round of activities just by giving them attention incrementally.