My dd is 6 years old, 7 soon, and I have noticed, whilst being on holiday with her, just how distracted she is and just how she doesn't listen or retain what we ask of her.
Point in case, in a busy city in Europe she was haplessly walking along a pedestrian road that also has trams. Having explained this to her many a time, and having spent the whole day avoiding them, she scared the life out of us as she skipped off toward a slow moving tram. My husband yelled stop. She didn't. I yelled stop. She panicked and ran forwards and backwards like a rabbit in the headlights.
Luckily every thing was fine but she didn't stop crying for the next 20 minutes as she was so shocked and she said she didn't understand what we meant. How can you not understand STOP!
My mistake was probably in telling her she was not in trouble, but that she has to stop if we shout like that. We don't shout at her in a loud and over bearing way so she knows when we do, we mean business.
We spoke to her for the next 15 minutes about the severity of what happened and the consequences. But I don't feel it really goes in.
Only a few days later on a boat she constantly questions why she has to wear a life jacket and repeatedly asks if she can take it off. Despite us saying she must wear it at all times on the boat, over and over.
It seems she doesn't retain what we say. She asks me a question then 15 minutes later asks the same one. And so it goes on. Repetition.
Does anyone else have this and know how to say something once and make it sink in? It's getting very frustrating and I don't want to get frustrated with her. I want her to understand that when i say "no you can't have an ice cream today" that I say it once and I mean it. Instead of her keep asking.