I am taking my son to Orlando for spring break this week and really looking forward to it. It will be nice to take a break from regular life, but my biggest problem is that my son's normally well behaved self seems to take a break as well. It's frustraiting when normally I say something once and he listens right away, and as soon as we are somewhere else he becomes this "wild child" Like he has to impress the natives or something. My concern is we are going to a few amusement parks, sea world and aquatica mainly, and if he runs off and doesn't listen, I am going to loose him in the spring break crowds. I mean in one sense I am covered I know I have the Childsafe ID cards that I give out, as some of you may know, which is great, but still I worry. Does anyone have any suggestions to make sure he listens to me while we are out of town?
Well our first day was a nightmare. We went to seaworl and I think I must have brought a savage wild child instead of my sweet boy. So I read over the advice on here and used a bit of everything. The rest of the vacation went so smooth I thought I must have swaped children. It wqas great and I want to thank all of you for your advice
I would reward good behavior with something your son would find special. Explain this before you go on your trip. If you cooperates, he gets it at the end of the each day. If not, he doesn't. I would also consider taking away a favorite toy, skateboard, Ipod...whatever's his thing. If he knows the rules ahead of time, he might get with the program. Have fun!
I'm a wife, full-time working mother of 8 children, and there is a way to make this all work. (If it's what you really want to have happen.) It takes a LOT of jiggling around, done by you, in regards to schedules, and making sure that your top priority is always your children! Granted, I am married-but-my husband is totally disabled, and I have to be the one who takes care of it all!! At the end of each and every day, give yourself a big hug, and a pat on the back, for a job WELL-DONE!! Take Care!! P.S. Those "child harnesses" are a God-sent to knowing where your child is at ALL of the time.!
My suggestion is that you go over the rules before you enter the park and why the rule is there. Make him repeat the rules back to you - each rule - and the reason you have the rule. If a rule is broken - that means you have to sit down on a bench for a specified time. You may have to do it once or twice as he tests you to see if you really mean it, so be prepared to sit. I did this with my 6 year old a few years back and it worked like a charm! We even talked about the fact that everytime we get off a ride we would be in a store. His job was to notice the things in each store and at the end of the day I would give him a specified amount of money he could spend so he could get his favorite thing. I ended up having to give him a time limit, LOL, because he wanted to squeeze as much stuff into those dollars as possible! (I first used this concept before we entered a Chucky Cheese!)
Good Luck,
D.
It may hurt you more than him - but simply lay it out - that he listens or you don't go on those trips. If he misbehaved on the last one, I would not do that again anytime soon. Easier said than done when it is planned, I know. Good Luck!
