11 playful ideas to get young kids cooperating

Children under five. Lucky they’re cute because boy can they be aggravating! They just don’t listen!

My daughter was particularly difficult at 3.5 which prompted me to start reading up on methods to manage. I borrowed How To Talk To Little Kids So They Listen from the library and it was amazing! I immediately bought a copy and recommended it to all my mothers groups.

One strategy suggested by the authors is to be playful. Now I know you don’t always feel like being playful, especially at the end of a long day. And sometimes we just want kids to follow our directions without any fuss. But being playful has worked wonders for me.

Even though it seems like a huge effort turning getting dressed or brushing teeth into a game, it requires way less energy than asking your child a million times, getting angry and eventually forcibly making it happen.

Imagine instead that you play a silly game and the result is that your child is in the state you need and everyone is smiling and giggling. It is much more enjoyable for both the parents and the kids.

Here are some ways to be playful that have worked well with my kids between 18 months and 5 years.

Getting dressed

Getting my 3 yr old dressed in the morning nearly broke me. It took an hour of persistence and then no-one was happy at the end of it. For a while we resorted to having my daughter sleep in her clothes for the next day instead of pyjamas so that we didn’t have to battle in the morning. I finally had some success though with the following playful options.

1. Pretending to do things wrong

“Ok so I’ll just put your pants onto your ear now. Oh what, they don’t go there? Alright, onto your elbow then. That’s not right either? Well then where do they go? On your legs! Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that?” As the child giggles and sticks out their legs to put the pants on.

2. Clothes talking

Warm clothes: “Oh please let me snuggle up to you James. I’m so cold I need a warm hand/foot/body inside me. Pleeeeease. Oh you’re so warm. Thank you James, thank you!”

I feel really silly doing this one but if it works, so what?

Getting in the car

3. Blind buckling

Set a challenge to see if you can strap the kids into their car seats with your eyes closed. The kids think it’s hilarious. If you don’t think you can do it, it’s actually super easy! It’s such a routine thing we do every day. And if you can’t do it, it’s just something for you and the kids to laugh about.

4. Tickling

Let the kids tickle you while you buckle them into the car seat

Brushing Teeth

5. Tickle brushing

Another ticking one but this time you get to do the tickling. If my kids clamp their mouth shut, I sit them on my lap so that they don’t fall and tickle them with one hand until they open their mouths. My other hand shoves a toothbrush straight in!

Grocery shopping

6. Zoom kids down an empty aisle

I don’t know about you, but I try to keep the kids in the trolley for as long as possible and food only lasts so long. So where there is an empty aisle, I start running with the trolley as fast as is safe. Spinning the trolley where there is space gets some giggles too.

7. Follow the leader

Once I’ve exhausted all options to keep the kids in the trolley, I try to keep them close to me by playing follow the leader. The kids love this because they copy a scene from Bluey. After a little while they stop following me and then I turn around and say with mock outrage “Hey! Why aren’t you following me?!’ at which they erupt into giggles.

Eating

8. Crunching carrot sticks

Trying to get some kind of vegetables into the little darlings, I challenge them to see who can crunch the loudest. They always take at least one bite, but with some praise about how their crunching was so loud, I can usually get them to eat some more. Join in with the super loud crunching too. Works with any crunchy vegetable.

Anytime playful tactics

9. Use toys to model good behaviour

I particularly like this one for nappy changes. I say to my 2 yr old – ok it’s time to change Blue Bunny’s nappy and we change it together before it is his turn. Or I say – Blue Bunny looks a bit unsure about this. Can you show him how it’s done?

10. Use imagination

When the answer to a child’s question is something they might not like, imagine what a better scenario would be.

For example when my daughter asks me to pick up something she dropped in the car but I’m driving – “Oh I can’t because my arms aren’t long enough and I have to keep holding the steering wheel. But wouldn’t it be great if I had really long stretchy arms? Or eight arms like an octopus? Then I could hold the steering wheel, pick up your toy, pass you food all at the same time!”

11. Racing

A word of warning. Racing can foster competitiveness and an expectation that the child always wins. It can also create problems among siblings.

Instead of saying let’s race, I like to say to the kids – Are you too fast for me? Then they can both beat me but there is no winner.

Another option is to race against a timer. Eg. Can you pick up these toys, get dressed, finish your bath etc before the timer beeps. I highly recommend a visual timer such as this one so that even the youngest kids can see the coloured part disappearing and understand that time is running out.

Now these tricks will not work every time, you’ve got to pick the right moment for it. And also mix it up. Children will cotton onto your tricks pretty quickly. There are so many ways to get creative with being playful and it creates a much happier household.

So channel your inner Mary Poppins and try some of these ideas or come up with your own. How do you get your kids to cooperate by being playful? Let me know in the comments.

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