I’ve tried prepping her by explaining what’s coming up, but sometimes it almost seems to make her more fixated on the wait.
That really rings true for me—I’ve noticed with my own son (he’s 8 now) that too much prep can actually backfire. He’ll start counting down the minutes and gets more anxious, not less. I used to think being honest and detailed would help, but sometimes a little mystery is better.
As for distractions, I’ve definitely hit that wall where nothing seems to work after a certain point. Drawing or coloring helps for maybe ten minutes tops, then he’s just done. I tried bringing small puzzles or those fidget cubes, and they bought me a bit more time than coloring books, but still... once the wait drags on, he starts getting antsy again.
I totally get what you mean about the phone—it works instantly, but then there’s the battle when it’s time to hand it back. I started keeping it as a last resort because of that exact reason.
Rewards after the visit are tricky. Sometimes they motivate him to behave during the appointment itself (“If you can sit quietly until we’re called in, we’ll stop for ice cream”), but other times he just keeps asking about the reward instead of focusing on anything else. It can turn into a whole new distraction that isn’t always helpful.
One thing that helped us was giving him a “job” while we waited—like being in charge of holding my keys or counting how many people come in and out of the waiting room. Not foolproof by any means, but sometimes having a sense of responsibility distracts him from the wait itself. Has anyone else tried something like that? Or maybe there are other non-screen activities people have found surprisingly effective?
