How do you teach two- or three-year-old children to be patient?
You don’t rush to do things for them. You don’t hurry to give them cookies or other “treats.”
You teach them to wait.
You engage them in the lesson by saying something like, “You can play your video game in a little while. Just wait. And don’t say anything else about it or you won’t play it at all today. Do something else until then.” Or. . .“I’ll give you a cookie when I finish doing the dishes. Just wait. And don’t say anything else about it or you won’t get it.”
Then, you proceed to make them wait. But, don’t overdo it. Ten to 20 minutes is enough. And praise them for doing a good job of waiting when you let them play the game or give them the cookie.
They’ll learn to be patient.
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