Does your child struggle with following directions?

Listening to and following directions is one of the most important pieces of school readiness. Here are some tips to help your child work on this at home!

• Make sure you are looking your child in the eye when you give directions.

  • Have them repeat them back to you so you know they understand what to do.

• Try chunking the directions into smaller parts.

  • Only give one or two directions at a time so it is easier for them to follow through.

• Try giving warnings before it’s time to transition to a new activity.

  • For example, “It’s almost time for dinner. You have five more minutes to play and then it’s time to clean up and get ready for dinner.” And set a timer so they know how long they have left to play before they need to clean up.

• If it’s something that they do daily, you can make a picture chart of things they need to do.

  • Take pictures of them doing each activity and make a little chart so they know what comes first, second, third, etc.

• Give them choices so they feel like they have some control.

  • “Do you want to brush your teeth first or get dressed first?”