Sabotage sounds like a scary word, but do not be afraid of it. We often go above and beyond for our little ones. This sometimes results in us accidently taking away opportunities for them to request, comment, reject, or accept what we are offering/doing. When using the sabotage strategy you want to plan/set up a problem or difficult situation for your child to encounter but in a fun and playful way.
An example of this can be something as simple as handing them their pudding or apple sauce with the foil lid still on. You may know that their little fingers are not yet able to pull that little foil lid off so you may want to do it for them. BUT if we give it to them closed we have created a problem for them! They want that pudding or apple sauce and now they need to figure out a way to eat it. This will allow your child to:
- gain your attention
- request help (help me, open please) to get something they want
If you see your child is not yet ready to use the words open or help say “Ohh silly mommy! I forgot to open your pudding. I am so silly! Let’s open your pudding!” This models the language you want them to use and now you can do this several different days and hopefully they learn you are using the word open and they can now request you to open it.
You can also “accidently” forget to give them a spoon to eat with. Now your child has to ask you for the spoon.
We just created two communication opportunities in one simple everyday activity.
Some easy ways to sabotage are:
- Forgetting to give all or some of the materials your child will need to do something
- Making a silly mistake (handing them mommy’s shoes instead of their own when you are getting ready, giving them a sock when they need a shirt)
- Give them a toy with a missing part (i.e. train tracks without the bridge part)
- Give them something that may be a little too hard for them (but make sure that this is something that they KNOW what needs to happen. They know you need to open the pudding and they know how to sign or say the word open so you are just creating the opportunity for them to use something they know)
Make sure that when you are sabotaging a situation you are doing so in a fun and playful way. This should not lead to your child getting upset and showing high levels of frustration. Make sure that they have the means to respond to your sabotage. If they do not know how to respond the situation will not be successful. This works best in well established routines where you have used the desired language or items before.
Think about different parts of your day that you are able to sabotage and give it a try!
Time 2 Talk, LLC 