Say "What Mom"

Nick is my first born and the Attention Deficit Disorder wasn't completely defined in the early eighties so I was completely overwhelmed. He would wonder off on his own following butterflies or the wind or the beat of his own heart. Whatever the reason I couldn't take my eyes off of him for a minute. A daunting task since by the time he was 6 he had 2 siblings and I had my hands full.

Frustrated, Overwhelmed and Exhausted and I could not get his attention, especially when he was watching the TV. Yelling, Jumping in front of TV, even a physical nudge wouldn't break the spell. Then one day in total exasperation I looked at him and said in a prayer like tone "Nick, Say what mom." and it worked and still works to this day, and works for his now wife who called me with the same issue. Two weeks after she started using that technique he stopped to realize "Hey! Mom used to say that"

He had so much going on in his head that a sharp pull back in reality was too much of an adjustment. A calm and easy attitude and time for him to float away into his thoughts worked out well as a parenting tool.