



Difficulties are reduced or minimised as the child, with time (and consistency on your part), comes to accept that it is not their behaviour that is controlling the situation but a pre-established system that dictates or indicates their access to an item or activity or whose turn it is etc. regardless of who puts up the biggest resistance or the most forcefull objections to the turn taking or sharing in question.

Below is an example of this simple turn taking strategy which aims to both help young children to better accept that taking turns and sharing is an inevitable part of life and also in the process hopefully give us adults a slightly more peacefull life to boot. I have seen this be very successful on many occasions including with my own children so i'm sharing it here with genuine faith in its effectiveness. I first used this with great and rapid success with my eldest daughter when she tried to assert her absolute control of the television as a toddler and would go into complete tantrum meltdown when it was time to turn off her favourite cartoon or show or even just a song she liked listening and dancing too.

The example below is based around sharing access to the TV as i believe this to be a common challenge that most families have experienced at some time particularly (although not exclusively) with young children. The same logic can be extended to sharing or turn taking in relation to most other items or activities.