1. A Simple Way to Keep Kids from Bothering Parents
- Rule: When a child wants to speak while their parents are talking to someone else, they should place their hand on the parent’s arm or shoulder. If the parent touches their hand in return, it means the child has been 'heard' and will be responded to shortly.
- Benefits: By maintaining this connection, adults help children feel listened to, respected, and become more patient.

2. Waiting for Big Events (Birthdays, Christmas)
Solution: You can shorten the waiting time by creating a unique waiting schedule. Each day before the upcoming event is marked with postcards featuring wishes or creative tasks, small gift bags, or candy packets. Any of these options will captivate children of all ages—after all, everyone loves surprises.
Source: BRIGHTSIDE

3. Learning to Estimate Time
Children begin to develop abstract thinking around the age of 9. Before this, their minds work more concretely, which is why they may struggle to distinguish between 15 and 45 minutes. To help with this, it is really useful for children to learn how to estimate time whenever possible.
- Things not to say to your child: "We will leave in an hour." or "You have 10 minutes to put away your toys."
- Things to say: "Daddy will come home when the sun sets behind that house over there."
Waiting won't be as difficult for children if they can imagine that "Oh, this is as quick as brushing my teeth."

4. Teaching Kids Solo Play Games
- Not-so-good games: Games on smartphones or tablets hinder the development of children's imagination and creativity (as the process and outcome of the game are pre-determined by the developers).
- Good games: Puzzles, treasure hunts, role-playing, etc.
There are many ways to teach a child to play independently, and the results will exceed expectations if you are patient.

5. A Game to the Rescue in Public Places
Children often get bored while waiting for a bus or when their mom is taking too long at the store. In these moments, there’s a great way to distract them.
Game: Two participants embark on a search, agreeing on a feature they will look for in the objects around them (color, shape, or the first letter of a name). The first person to spot 20 (or any other number) objects with the selected feature wins and gets to request something of their choice. For example, you could count the cars passing by while waiting at the bus stop or spot road signs while driving.

