The Art Of Misdirection

The Smiley Kids once said: Turn your frown upside down, Make your lips go round and round.

How do you turn your child's mood from sour to sunny so that they are ready to move past the negativity? One of the most effective ways I have found is with what I like to call 'The Art Of Misdirection' (from now on referred to as TAOM). I'm sure you've all done it before, and grandparents seem to be especially good at TAOM.

Your child decides that today is the day that he or she is going to be unhappy. In a fit of rage, the child stomps off. However, in the effort to put on a show of displeasure, the child trips and crashes headlong into the wall. Immediately the scream is heard, followed by uncontrollable sobbing. That's when the TAOM expert swoops in with a pocket full of jellybeans, and the conversation goes something like this:

Hey, did you scrape your knee? Oh yeah? Well, jellybeans are really good. Would you like one or two?

Almost instantly, the tears dry up, and the wailing stops, as the sugary goodness finds it's way to the child's mouth. Some may call this bribing, I call it misdirection.

The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and it's a beautiful day to be outside playing. But when asked if he or she wants to go to the park, ride bikes, or some other enjoyable activity, the child refuses to participate. The conversation goes something like this:

Did you see that squirrel outside? I bet he likes to collect nuts. Do you like to eat peanuts? Oh yeah, well did you know that that thing on the end of a screw is called a nut? I bet there are some nuts on your bike. Man, that bike looks cool; I bet you would look super fly sitting on that bike…

Before you know it you're enjoying the outdoors, and the child doesn't even remember what the fuss was about in the first place.

If you liked this post, you may also like 'Stop Feeding The Monster.' Also be sure to check out fatherhood friday at dad-blogs.com