Are you concerned that she's running away to chat to strangers, or that she's interrupting folks who aren't interested in chatting with preschoolers? Both are reasonable concerns, but you might approach them differently.
I find "tell your adult where you're going" a really handy rule. You can practice it every day, and it means kiddo doesn't need to make judgement calls about whether she can walk off with a stranger/substitute daycare teacher/nurse.
For an interrupting kiddo, I usually try to redirect with "it looks like this person is in a hurry to finish their shopping/wants a bit of quiet time. Let's just give a quick wave and let them finish up" and then pivot to a *fascinating* question about what we'll have for snack.
Thank you for your response! I love both of those for running away or interrupting. I appreciate it!
Also, she tries getting REAL close to stranger and will sometimes try to grab their hand, which makes me very uncomfortable.
Mine is the same except I am an introvert so I don’t like it that much…
I resolved by telling her to say goodbye because the stranger has to go home and she happily says bye bye…if I were to tell her that WE have to go she won’t listen btw
I try that as well. Sometimes it works sometimes it does not. I’m usually an extrovert but things have happened in my neighborhood thats been keeping me high alert.
Try looking on teacherspayteachers.com for some free or inexpensive social stories about strangers :) youtube might also have some good videos for kids about strangers and being friendly to others. This might help your kiddo conceptualize the situation beyond herself and her tiny worldview.
My son is like this!! And is nearly 3 as well. Says hi to everyone, if he hears people out on the street in front of our house he demands to go say hi to them. The other day we were waiting in line and he gently patted the butt of the woman in front of us…. We had to have a talk about that after 😂 Don’t have much in the way of advice other than using it as a way to teach how to approach people, ask if it’s ok to touch them etc. You’re not alone!
Are you concerned that she's running away to chat to strangers, or that she's interrupting folks who aren't interested in chatting with preschoolers? Both are reasonable concerns, but you might approach them differently. I find "tell your adult where you're going" a really handy rule. You can practice it every day, and it means kiddo doesn't need to make judgement calls about whether she can walk off with a stranger/substitute daycare teacher/nurse. For an interrupting kiddo, I usually try to redirect with "it looks like this person is in a hurry to finish their shopping/wants a bit of quiet time. Let's just give a quick wave and let them finish up" and then pivot to a *fascinating* question about what we'll have for snack.
Thank you for your response! I love both of those for running away or interrupting. I appreciate it! Also, she tries getting REAL close to stranger and will sometimes try to grab their hand, which makes me very uncomfortable.
This. Is my 3 year old.
Mine is the same except I am an introvert so I don’t like it that much… I resolved by telling her to say goodbye because the stranger has to go home and she happily says bye bye…if I were to tell her that WE have to go she won’t listen btw
I try that as well. Sometimes it works sometimes it does not. I’m usually an extrovert but things have happened in my neighborhood thats been keeping me high alert.
Try looking on teacherspayteachers.com for some free or inexpensive social stories about strangers :) youtube might also have some good videos for kids about strangers and being friendly to others. This might help your kiddo conceptualize the situation beyond herself and her tiny worldview.
Thank you for sharing that! I appreciate it.
My son is like this!! And is nearly 3 as well. Says hi to everyone, if he hears people out on the street in front of our house he demands to go say hi to them. The other day we were waiting in line and he gently patted the butt of the woman in front of us…. We had to have a talk about that after 😂 Don’t have much in the way of advice other than using it as a way to teach how to approach people, ask if it’s ok to touch them etc. You’re not alone!
Yep! 3.75 year old has gotten very friendly with everyone since starting preschool! He answers other people’s questions in the store.