I Can Wait a Little
When you need to eat but your child wants immediate play, keep the family response consistent. Name both needs, make a promise you can keep, and offer a small choice that helps your child wait.
- 15 months
- No prep needed
- At home
- About 15 minutes
Developmental benefits
- Social/Emotional：Experiencing a consistent limit, receiving comfort, and choosing what to do while waiting gives your child early practice shifting attention and managing behavior with adult support.
Preparation
What You’ll Need
- 1
Two or three choices that fit your family’s limit
Step 1
Name Both Needs
You arrive home hungry, and your child pulls you toward play. Begin by acknowledging what they want: “You missed me and want to play.” Then state what you need in simple words and make a specific promise you can keep: “I need to eat first. Then we’ll play together.”
What to notice
- Stays close and gestures or vocalizes for you to play
Communicating and Speaking - Hugs or leans into you after time apart
Relationships with Adults
Tips
- Make your need concrete with a playful sound: “My tummy is rumbling—grrr! It needs dinner.”
- After time apart, your child may be seeking closeness as much as the activity itself. Acknowledge that connection before restating the limit.
- Choose a clear family limit you can follow consistently, such as keeping toys away from the dinner table.
Step 2
Comfort Without Changing the Limit
Your child may whine or cry when play cannot happen immediately. Keep the family response consistent and ask another caregiver to offer closeness or a different activity while you eat.
What to notice
- Begins to settle when another caregiver holds or comforts them
Emotional & Behavioral Self-Regulation - Raises their arms to ask to be held after hearing your reassurance Communicating and Speaking
Tips
- When feelings are intense, hold your child if they want to be held and use a steady, soothing rhythm while the feeling passes.
- At this age, wanting something can bring a strong urge to have it immediately. Your child still relies on adults to help them wait.
- If the crying makes you tense, take one slow breath before responding.
- A consistent response from caregivers makes the limit easier for your child to predict.
Step 3
Offer a Waiting Choice
If your child still wants you, offer two choices that keep the limit: sit nearby with a favorite toy, or have a small piece of fruit with the other caregiver. When they choose, name the waiting: “You chose fruit while you wait for me.” Then follow through on your promise to play.
What to notice
- Looks to a caregiver for what to do after the limit is repeated Emotional & Behavioral Self-Regulation
- Shows affection by holding hands, hugging, or smiling Relationships with Adults
Tips
- Offer a familiar toy, a simple activity, or food already appropriate for this moment—something that redirects attention without changing the limit.
- Notice the behavior specifically: “You found something to do while you waited.”
- Keeping your promise helps your child experience that a short wait has a predictable ending.
- Quieter crying, a more relaxed body, or looking toward you or the offered choices can signal readiness to choose.
Better Parenting Content Team · Updated September 11, 2026