Tips for Working with a Child Who Is Less Persistent

Friends, Family and Home

• Encourage family members to be patient.
• Offer to help him and his friends complete a project, such as making a fort.
• Work on chores and activities together.
• Ask family members to respond immediately when possible to a baby's cries and needs.

Learning, Childcare and School

• Provide her with puzzles and activities that are quick, and congratulate her completion.
• Set goals with him, and establish timelines for completing steps to the goal.
• Ask teachers to encourage her to complete simple activities.
• Encourage process art, where experiencing the art materials is more important than making something specific.

Activities and Television

• Encourage short-term projects, such as short card games, simple art projects or a one-time class, so he can complete something.
• If she is watching TV, discourage changing channels constantly.
• Involve him in simple cooking activities that are fun and quick.
• Provide activities that don't have to be completed such as blocks, Legos and dramatic props.

Guidance and Discipline

• Offer her small rewards for completing a job or chore.
• Use charts so that he can see his progress when he completes work.
• Break chores, rules and instructions into smaller steps and give them to her one at a time.
• Encourage and help him to try again when learning to walk, sit up, ride a bike, or other new skills.