How can I encourage DS to keep trying at something?

[Ozziegirly]

He's only little, 18 months, but when he tries something, if he can't do it straight away, he gets so cross and flings the toy, and won't let me help at all, even just to show him.

Our current two nemesisisis (nemisi?) are building blocks and a bloody shape sorter. He can actually build a respectable tower of 5 or 6 blocks and can do the shapesorter, when he tries and doesn't just get frustrated and fling them, but 9/10 he tries, the tower falls, he screeches and knocks it down, throws himself to the floor etc.

He does actually keep having a go, but each time getting more and more pissed off with his inability to do it perfectly.

Any suggestions? I sit back and leave him to it sometimes, and try to help sometimes but neither seem to help really. I think he just needs to understand that if he calmed down and did it calmly that he would be able to do it fine.

I really empathise because I feel that RAGE when I can't figure something complicated out, but I can keep calm. Is this just something that comes with age?

I sympathise :) Break down the task into very simple, small chunks rather than giving him too much to think about all at once. e.g hand over just one shape for the sorter to start with. Once he gets confident with one shape and gets lots of praise, hand him the next shape. Same with bricks. Give him just three bricks to start with then, once he's got those going by himself and he's feeling confident introduce another brick ... 'look what I found!'

FWIW my DS was the same through infant school. Thinks he can do anything (good)... but, when faced with a piece of work with lots of stages, sits there getting stressed not knowing where to start (bad). As he's got older and he's learned how to break the task down, it's got better.

Thank you so much, that's so helpful - I've never actually thought of breaking it down

DS is the same, he tries everything, which is great, but then finds it frustrating when he can't do things (things like climbing a ridiculously tall slide for example). It's great that he tries but I don't want him to be put off trying if he associates it with "failure".

My DS also thought he would just walk up to a football and be Wayne Rooney from the first kick. He's soon discovered that, like his poor old mum, he has all the coordination and agility of a blindfolded tortoise. However, as I heard the other day, failure is not necessarily a bad thing. The most successful people are the ones that learn to deal with failure, put it behind them but don't let it put them off trying again.

Bless 'em - I hope DS takes after my DH who is one of those irritating people who are just good at everything they turn their hand to, whereas I have always been a "work hard" person!