How do I teach patience to a 2.5 year old?

[SummerBaby]

Help. DD is driving us nuts. She simply cannot wait for anything. When she wants juice or water, she wants it NOW. When she wants to go upstairs, she wants to go NOW. When she wants play-doh, she wants it NOW. You get the idea. She starts off asking nicely- I want juice please. However, before I can even open the fridge to get it out she starts whining "Juice pleeeeaaaaasseeee." By the time it's poured she is almost in tears. I've been telling her that she has to be patient, that it's not nice to whine, and if she whines or cries, she can't have what she asks for, but this is not working. Sometimes when I'm busy I tell her to wait until I'm done with x,y,z, and she just stands there pulling on me asking "You ready mommy?"

So, any suggestions on how to teach her she has to wait without whining????? Before I lose my mind????

Val
Mom to Madeline
7/28/04

[psophia17]

By example...

How much does that suck? DS1 is 3yo and we're still working hard on patience. Unfortunately, the only way to do it is to remind him a gazillion times a day that he needs to be patient.

[KBecks]

A few ideas -- set a timer, use counting, or give her a small activity to occupy her while she waits, or involve her in the prep -- holding the cup while you pour, etc. Even talking through the steps as you are doing them.

[Smiles81]

One thing I do is tell DS (almost 3) what I am in the middle of doing or what I have to do before he gets what he wants. Like, if I am feeding my baby, I say, "when she is done with her drink, we can do a puzzle." etc. Or "When I'm done washing dishes, you will get a drink." This does tend to work when he is in a good mood. He also understands what "in a minute" means, so that helps.

Reena

[lilycat88]

We make Susanna count. We tell her she can't have whatever she wants until she counts to 5 or 10. If it is something we really don't want her to have, we use 20 or 25 because we figure if she has the perseverence to get to 20, she's earned it. Twenty or twenty-five is usually reserved for getting off of the phone. She used to be a bear about us talking on the phone. We can generally end whatever conversation we are involved in by the time she counts to 20 or moves on to something else. For something like a drink, it's usually 5 or 10.

[californiagirl]

DD does fine with a concrete limit -- some sign that she understands of when it's going to happen or when she can ask again. We set a timer a lot (a friend of ours sets the alarm on his cellphone, but he's lucky -- a lot of kids need the feedback of seeing the timer move).

The first time I tried the timer trick, I was awe-struck. She had asked 15 times in a row to use the computer, I set the timer, and she trotted away to do something else. It doesn't always work that well, but it mostly does.