grandparents, Rephrase Your Requests

Grammie and Grampy, that's me and Sharen, are reducing confusion and delays with our grandkids. Mae,5 and Colton 3 are becoming real people. They require more conversaton and communication than a few years ago. I read this article from the February issue of Parents magazine and thought it was worth passing some suggestions for you to consider.
Rephrase Your Requests
instead of
"you look tired -aren't you ready for your nap?
say
" it's time for your nap now"
instead of
"are you ready for mommy to leave now?"
say
"mommy is leaving now, we will have lots of fun together"
instead of
"would you put on your sneakers"? we're late"
say
"your sneakers need to be put on. we're late"
ALSO, the article discusses CHOICES, CHOICES. "The most effective way to get your child to cooperate is to give her two choices--both of which you will be happy with. When you say,"Do you want to wear your blue jacket or the green sweatshirt with the hood?" It'll be a win-win situation.You give your child a sense of control, and he'll be ready to go out one way or the other."
Little do these experts know, it is not always this EASY!!
Have Fun
Grammie