Impatient 2 year old

[arinmasonsmom]

Any suggestions would be welcome regarding a very impatient 2 year old. We took him and my 6 year old son to an amusement park saturday night and although we almost walked on each ride, he was still screaming "Mason's turn" "Mason go now" and crying until it was his turn to get on. Once on he would even be heard shouting "Ready go now!!" Any hints on distracting him and entertaining him while waiting in lines at disney would be greatly appreciated. We are headed there at the end of August--thanks again, Ilisa.

 

[jldriscoll]

Distractions, distractions, distractions!!!!

Let's see we've done the following with our 4 year old when she's feeling impatient....

bubbles (you can get little ones that don't spill)
I spy (at 2 we kept it to colors)
singing!!! (Anyone near us better like the ABC's song!)
what do the clouds look like to you?
clapping games, Head shoulders knees and toes type stuff too (yes, I am a mom who's NOT AFRAID to look stupid to keep my kids quiet!)
every couple of hours we would give our daughter a little friend to hold (the plastic ones, happy meal size) She would talk to it and pretend for quite some time in line
we have a digital camera and show her pictures on the screen of herself.

Can't think of many more.

Oh one more, our daughter loved "where's your....." as in body parts, clothing, parents. Learned her left from her right at 2 because we played this game so much.

Good luck and have a great time!!!!!

 

[RobinLyn]

I have two boys that are teens now, 13 and 16, how the years go by.....But I know how it can be with boys and sometimes nothing will calm them down!! (Been there, done that many times! LOL) Maybe start with a ride that has a short line and if he gets uncontrolable, take him out of line right away and tell him until he calms down he can't go on the ride. When he gets the idea he can't control the situation by talking loud or crying, he will realize he has to wait nicely or no ride. I know it's not easy to do but it has worked for us. I learned the hard way with my first son, the second didn't get away with much, LOL. Have a Great time and don't forget patience is a virtue !

RobinLyn

 

[chancellor]

Funny, I just posted on this subject in another thread on 2-year-olds. My 21-month-old DS would start shouting "Ride! Ride!" as soon as he realized where the line was going, and any wait more than 10 or 15 minutes was impossible. We tried distractions, but found that the best thing was to avoid the waits where possible. Fortunately, Disney has Fast Pass, which can help, but I see you had trouble even with short lines. That only leaves distraction. Fortunately, most Disney lines are themed as nicely as the rides themselves, which can provide distractions (we got through a 20 minute wait for Buzz fairly easily, since the line moves quickly, and there's that giant animatronic Buzz in the waiting area that kept his attention while we went through).

I guess the bottom line is to roll with the punches and do your best. The new problem for us is now trying to calm our toddler down AFTER the ride, when he starts screaming to do it again!

 

[BounceyOne]

Would he play gameboy? I've seen many children playing them waiting on line.
Fast pass will also help, even if he is *eager* at least the line is shorter.
What about finger games, Itsy bitsy spider. The library has a book of these, you can learn a few before you go and teach as you go along.
If you get desperate would snacks help? Maybe an M&M every few minutes he bahaves on line?

 

[Carolinagal]

If we make it though this line then we can go Squash a Penny, eat a snack, stay up late tonight, drink soda for dinner, etc.

Or go for the really big toy that you know you are going to buy, and hold it out as a goal to work towards.

Oh, let him have control of one of the misty mates - they don't really annoy too many people, most seem to welcome the breeze. Also, I'm sure he'll have great fun sticking it in brother's ear