Do any of the moms out there have suggestions/tips for helping our son (who's almost 3) sit still in group activities? I take him to Kindermusik and story time at our local library, and he has a hard time sitting for any length of time. I don't want to use things that will distract him (like his Nabit tablet).
I have to be with him at Kindermusik and at the storytime (requirement). I don't expect him to sit still constantly at Kindermusik. I just want to see him participate better. We live in a pretty small town, so there aren't many acitivites for kids his age. The storytime I take him to is age-appropriate (it's for 2 year olds, and then I'll move him up to the next one after he turns 3 in Feburary).
He's a little boy. Little boys are very active and have a ton of energy and want to basically tear up the world and enjoy the mess. :-)
Allow him to exert that energy. Take him somewhere he can run and play and wear himself out before you go to the sit-down activity.
Sitting still isn't age appropriate :-)
The story time at our library is puncutated with songs, parachute play, rhytmic walking, touch your toes, tosuch your nose etc type of movement games. The kids might be sitting for 2-3 minutes at best for a story before they get up and move again.
My kid who is a real mover and shaker can manage that.
Practice at home with the sit still game. Use a pillow or a mat on the floor, and a timer. see if he can sit on the pillow until the timer goes off. Start with 10 seconds, and work your way up. Model it yourself if you have to.
Best,
F. B.
This is so common.
Many toddlers can't sit still for very long.
You might have better luck if you try tiring him out right before library story time.
Do the playground, have a quick snack then go listen to stories.
Good luck! I hope someone has a quick fix because I must be missing something. My son just turned 5 and still has a hard time sitting still. They are so active and want to just be running and having fun!
I read the title and I thought "Toddler Sitting Still... oxymoron!"
(You know, like Jumbo Shrimp, Baby Grand etc)
I mean, he's not even 3 yet... there is a big difference in their development, month-to-month still at this age.
But you can role play at home for a few minutes a day, different situations (waiting with mommy at the bank, playing teacher/student, going to the movies, library storytime...)
Crazy glue? No just kidding.
This is very common for such young children. I agree with B to get some of that energy out before you start these activities. Most kids do not sit still even as they get older, they just need to move and release that energy.
Sitting still (or not) has to do with several things - attention span is only one, but seeing other adults as authority figures is another. Kids need to transfer their sense of attachment to another adult - librarian, preschool teacher, music teacher, etc. Anyone running a program for 3 year olds should have strategies for engaging the child. They often do better if Mom and Dad are not there, by the way - they figure out they aren't going to get their own way and that there are expectations. It doesn't happen the first time, and it takes some repeat experiences sometimes. But you are absolutely correct not to give him something else to do, like a tablet or a toy, if he's in a music program or a story hour.
Some of it has to do with how you do things at home too. Do you have quiet story time with him where he sits in your lap and looks at the pictures without running around? Do you make the story engaging? You want quieter stories at bedtime, but very interactive and exciting stories (with voice inflection to match, or hand motions or other actions) during the active part of the day. That way they see the stories as involving and interesting, not boring. So the ability of the storyteller is important.
Kids are very individual in their development - some "get" certain skills early, when other kids don't.
I once took my son to a library storytime for toddlers. He was in toddler mode, wanted to run around that big, empty room, wanted to visit the other little faces and grown ups... and tripped and fell, skinning his nose on the carpet and howling up a blue streak.
On the way out, I read the sign more closely: "Toddler storytime: learning to sit and listen."
I never took him back. Remember that kids have an attention span of one minute per year. Activities at this age should include lots of room/space to move around, dance, wiggle and act things out. When I was toddler group lead, our 'circle times' were very short and had lots of variety; I also would gladly teach hand motions/actions to go with a story or just ditch the books so we could get our wiggles out. Just sitting still? Some toddlers will do it, but I think that if the kid isn't being served at their level of development, you should look for more activities which do allow movement.
(Even with my threes and fours, if we had a longer story, I offered fine motor toys like beads, lacing cards, etc or read while they were engaged in playdough. Kids like to be busy!)
If he's in Kindermusik they should be expecting all the kids to be moving around, distracted, wiggly! We didn't do Kindermusik but did lots of sessions of the somewhat similar Music Together program for kids this age and your son would never have been expected to stay still -- if his current Kindermusik teacher does expect this, find him a different teacher or move to another music program! Is this parent-and-child so you're there with him? Don't hold him on your lap etc. -- it should be fine to be up walking in the background with him. A good teacher should get things up and moving so no kid is expected to be still for more than a few moments.
Same with library story time. If he's in the appropriate age group for that story time they should be fine with his moving around -- again, not up at the front in the leader's face and in front of (and distracting) other quieter kids, but in the back on on the side. Just fine. Be sure that you are taking him to story times that are age-appropriate; sometimes libraries will note that a particular story time is for ages 3 and up, or infant through age 2 or whatever; be sure you're checking, and if you don't know, ask someone -- just call.
Please get some books on age expectations for young children. It's not realistic to expect a child under three to sit down, face front, stay silent for more than a few moments. Any activity he attends should be right for his age group and should encourage movement instead of being a sit-down affair.
Consider much more active things like My Little Gym or Gymboree classes or similar (and much cheaper) classes at your local parks and recreation department. Ours had lots of "mommy and me" "Wiggles and Giggles" classes where parents brought kids your son's age and a very lively teacher had the kids climbing over mats, playing loud games, etc. This is what he needs to be doing, not sitting still the whole time.
I agree with Fanged Bunny - practice at home. Practice makes perfect!
If it's for 2 year old kiddos then they should expect the kids to get up and move around. It's irrational and wrong to expect the kids this age to sit more than a couple of minutes at a time with something totally interesting to keep their attention.
i think it's unrealistic to expect a 2 year old to sit still for long. a good kindermusik program will allow wiggly littles to get their yeehaws out, and if it doesn't, don't take him.
you can try wearing him out at the playground first, but that could backfire and just make him overtired and grumpy. yes, practice at home is also helpful, but 2 year olds vary widely in their 'sitting still' capabilities at this age. if it's too much for him, honor your own child's temperament and don't force him to do things he's not developmentally ready to do.
khairete
S.
