Ever seen a child have a meltdown because they didn’t want to stop what they were doing?  Ever get totally annoyed when you are interrupted while intensely involved in an activity?

Children are the same. They just don’t always have the words to express their frustration. So they use a ‘language’ we understand - crying and screaming.

Follow these steps to help children keep a figurative eye on the clock.

1. Tell them in the morning what the plan is for the day. For example, “We’ll have breakfast, get dressed, go to the library, have lunch at home, go to your gym class, and then go home for dinner. You should be able to play with the neighbors today too.”

2. If the day’s plans change, let them know in simple terms.

3. Remind them of what’s next. “We’re done with breakfast. Now let’s get dressed and go to the library.”

4. When they are really engrossed in an activity, or really enjoying where they are, give them advance warning that the time is almost up. I’ve found that just saying they have another 5 minutes lets them know to start finding a good ending for their play or activity. At a library, maybe it’s when they select one more book.

5. Give them another reminder, perhaps at about 2 minutes of time left.

6. When time is up, and you need to transition to another part of the day, remind them also of what’s next. “It’s time to clean up now. When things are all cleaned up, we’ll go for a walk.” (Cleaning up - that’s another post.)

7. If they show frustration, give voice to that for them. “I know you are frustrated. Maybe next time you can work on the same thing.”

This is helpful for little ones as well as school-age children in classrooms. After all, we could all use help with time and self management.

The passage of time is a hard concept for preschool children. They want to know when things will happen. My daughter’s latest inquiry, “How long until the babysitter comes?”

I’ve found that if I answer by comparing to something she cares about and experiences on a repeated basis, then she understands better how long her wait might be. For the babysitter question, I answered that she’d come in about the same amout of time as 3 dance classes (to equal 3 hours). About an hour later, she asked again, and was excited when I said, “About 2 dance classes.”

Sometimes I compare to how long her favorite tv show lasts. Perhaps it’s how long it takes to drive to the grocery store. What about the amount of time we spend eating dinner?

Start with what’s relevant to their world, and then connect it to hours and minutes. They likely won’t be ready for a lesson using a clock. Yet they’ll eventually come to understand elapsed time. And that can lessen how many times we have to answer questions like, “How long until we get there?”