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Have You Tried Post-It® Notes?
As parents, we’re not the only ones who are trying to help our kids manage themselves and pay attention at school – so are their teachers. So if you want to stop your child from interrupting in school, try introducing Post-It® notes for self-management.
No, I’m not kidding. Here’s what I mean.
Our kids tend to struggle with interrupting in the classroom for one of two key reasons:
- either because they are afraid they won’t remember what they want to say
- or because interrupting keeps them engaged in what’s going on
Understand The Source
To stop your child from interrupting in class, it’s important to start with the source of the interruptions. Do they struggle with remembering things? Do they tend to want to have their questions addressed right away? From there, you can then help your child understand and recognize the pattern(s).
Help them see that, thanks to the way their brain is wired, it’s normal for them to want to address their thoughts right away. Even when the teacher or another classmate is speaking. It’s key, too, to help them understand the importance of learning to hold their thoughts or questions until someone else is finished. Like taking turns when playing a game, it’s a skill they need to practice and learn to master.
Then, ask them if they want to learn a strategy to help make it easier in class. Start by practicing at the dinner table.
The strategy is to put a small stack of Post-It® notes and a pen or pencil on their desk at the beginning of every class in school. Encourage your child to write down any comments, thoughts, or questions that are distracting them from paying attention to the lesson, the directions, or the conversation. They can capture anything that comes to their mind or even doodle on the paper when they need to fidget.
The simple Post-It® note becomes a masterful strategy to stop your child from interrupting in school. It helps them remember that they are practicing “not interrupting” and “waiting their turn” to talk. As an added benefit, they may find that they captured an idea that would be a good topic for a writing assignment or that all of their questions got answered. Most of all, it brings awareness to this process for them and a strategy to help them learn to manage themselves over time.
