Monster Taming Lesson One

This is for parents with naughty children.

Or parents with nice kiddies who would like to keep them that way.

Or grandparents who want even more reasons to brag with their little darlings.

Or people who are wondering whether they should have children.

Or pregnant parents.

Or folks who like to chuckle about kids' antics.

Or someone with a monstrous brother or sister.

Or teachers with a classroom full of monsters.

Or...

Oh, what the heck, anyone who has any kind of interest in the young ones might enjoy this, so let's just dive in.

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Note: For the purpose of this blog, I assume you have/are/know somebody who has earned the title of "Little Monster" at least once. I'll also assume that you have some desire to transform the monster into an angel, or at the very least tame the little beast a bit.

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Some kids are really and truly terribly naughty. Others may seem naughty to the untrained eye, but they aren't really. They're just over-excited about all the wonderful things in the world, and grown-ups who have forgotten that feeling of enchantment sometimes get the wrong impression when these kids inadvertently do something in a less-than-perfect way.

So we already have three distinct groups : brats, adventurers and amnesiacs.

Luckily all these conditions can all be "cured" with the same "therapy", namely creative activity. Which will be the main focus of this blog, although (be warned!) we might wander off in different directions from time to time, as new and interesting dimensions spontaneously present themselves . It has been known to happen - research often lures me round unexpected corners, and I'll probably drag you along for the ride.

But that's enough rambling for now. Let's get started with...

Monster Taming Lesson One

Before we can even begin to unravel the mysteries surrounding the causes of and cures for unruly behavior, we need some peace and quiet, some thinking space. There's nothing quite as distracting as a child who demands attention right now, right? So here's the golden rule that applies to all of them, no matter what their age:

Keep them BUSY

I can hear you groaning, and yes, I know. "Go and play" doesn't work. The harder you try to get rid of them quickly, the more they keep on pestering you. That's just a fact of life, and we'll discuss the "why" behind it later. For now, just accept that you'll have to give them your full, undivided attention for a short while.

• The sooner you do that, the sooner you'll be able to continue what you were busy with before they interrupted you.


• The more often you do that now, the more peace and quiet you'll have from now on - see it as a wise investment!

So instead of saying "Go and play", say "Come and play with me" or even better, "Let's have some fun". Almost the same, yet totally different. Especially if you've made up your mind to really have some fun while you're at it. Force yourself if you have to, but do put the focus on fun. These little tykes can pick up on vibes a mile away, and if you secretly feel irritated while pretending to enjoy yourself, they'll just push your buttons until they've exposed you.

The golden rule must therefore be expanded:

Keep them BUSY with something that is FUN to do

And that brings us to the next question, namely "What is fun?" and the easiest way to answer that is to ask the kid. As adults we often tend to forget where joy is hidden. Accept that they know better, and go with the flow even if it feels a little weird at first - it might do you a world of good too!

As soon as you've gotten them interested in some activity, they'll usually be happy to continue on their own, and you can carry on with whatever you need to do. Until they get bored again, of course... but don't despair. Some editions of Monster Taming will contain a few ideas on teaching them how to keep themselves busy. And maybe this will help, too (Click links below to download, get the third one first. All three are free):

1. A fun poster to decorate with color
   


2. A set of ten jigsaw puzzles to practice having fun with
   


3. A download manager to speed up and organize all the goodies you'll be downloading from here and elsewhere over the next few months/years

Until next time,

Have Fun and Be Happy!


`_~

Trienie