I feel like every child has a hard time leaving the park, or any preferred activity for that matter.
Some children have a hard time leaving the pool. Others have a hard time leaving story time at the public library. Maybe your child has a hard time leaving school or daycare or a friend’s house. Play dates are really fun; your child may have a hard time leaving that, too.
While it may be hard for your child to leave these fun activities, it’s also as equally hard for us parents when it’s time to leave. We don’t throw a fit when it’s time to leave the park, but our child does… this is why it’s so hard for us to leave.
Let’s be honest. It’s embarrassing when our child is throwing a major meltdown because it’s time to leave the park. She’s screaming. She’s crying. She’s flailing her legs. This gets REAL old real quick.
Why can’t our child just leave the park peacefully? Why does she have to carry on like this? Doesn’t she know that we will come back another day? We always do!
Like I said, it can be really embarrassing when our child is throwing these kind of tantrums in public. Other people don’t know what’s going on. We look like a bad parent. The adults are looking. The other kids are asking their moms why that kid is crying. Some people may think that I don’t even know how to manage my own kid. Ugh.
Surely there is something that we can do to help prevent the tantrums from happening the next time we are at the park.
Luckily, there is something that you can do to help prepare your child to leave a preferred activity, and it’s easy!
Ultimately, we need to prepare our children of the expectations of leaving the park and when it’s going to come. Most children really thrive on structure and routine, and when we outline our expectations for our children, it usually makes everything a ton easier.
While you are driving on your way or walking to the park, remind your child about what they can expect to happen while they are at the park:
- You plan to be there for X number of minutes.
- They can swing, go down the slide, and run around.
- You will be there watching.
- Other children and parents may be at the park.
- It’s great to take turns with the other children.
- You’ll remind them when it’s almost time to leave.
- When you say it’s time to leave, they can walk nicely with you back to the car.
Providing expectations like these can really help us set our children up for success. We are helping them plan and be prepared for what is to come. When we do this, our children are better prepared and know what is expected of them.
While your children are at the park, they can play and run free as usual. It’s great to praise them for being appropriate, for sharing the swing with other children, and for playing nicely. This will really help with keeping the park a positive and happy environment.
Eventually it will be time to leave. I know that you dread this part. You really don’t want your child to throw a fit and make a scene in front of all of the other families.
Trust me on this, your phone is your best friend here.
What?! Did I read that correctly?!
Yes, your phone is your best friend in this situation because you will most definitely want to use the TIMER that’s on your phone. 
Remember how providing expectations are so important? Using a timer can also help with providing expectations!
When there are about ten minutes left before you need to leave, pull out your phone, set your timer, and inform your children that you will need to leave in ten minutes. You can also tell your children that when they hear the phone go off, it’s time to leave.
When there are five minutes left on the timer, go ahead and provide a reminder statement to your children, reminding them that they have five minutes left of playtime. I would do the same thing again when there are two minutes left.
When there are zero minutes left, the timer will go off and it’ll be time to leave.
You may be surprised with how well timers, providing reminders, and expectations can really help decrease those meltdowns in situations like leaving the park.
By simply providing expectations and reminding our children of what is to come, we may help our children transition to the car a lot easier!
So the next time that you’re at the park, pull out that timer and remind your children of those expectations. You may find yourself using timers in other situations, too!
