How to get 3 year old to follow direction?
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Anonymous
| DS is almost 3.5 and at home he’s able to follow clear direction and instruction. He started a karate class and really isn’t doing well compared to the other kids. He doesn’t follow instruction at all. He wonders around and plays most of the time. The instructor has to grab his hand to get him to do the exercises. The instructor will say something and he’ll just nod his head, but I know he doesn’t understand and isn’t going to do it. We’ve been practicing the moves at home but he just doesn’t follow her instruction well. It’s a class of about 6-8, so she can’t give him individual attention all the time. What can we do to help this? |
Anonymous
| Just take him out of the class. Wait six months and try again. He needs to mature. He's simply not ready. |
Anonymous
| Drop the karate classes and try again in a few years. |
Anonymous
| Are the other kids in the class also 3? That's awfully young for a class like that. |
Anonymous
| That’s really pretty young for a class. I’d just pull him out and try again in a little while. If he’s still interested in karate, you can always find some YouTube videos and do it at home until he’s ready for a class again. |
Anonymous
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This is slightly off topic, but reminds me of when my mom used to take my little sister to kiddie gym classes. She was probably like 2yo (I don’t remember it — it’s just a family story), and she really didn’t like it. The whole time, she’d go up to my mom and say, “Time to go now? Us go home now?”
I think my mom just pulled her out. |
Anonymous
| Very very normal for a kid that age to have a hard time in a group class like that. Wait a few years and it will be more enjoyable for all! Structured classes at that age are at best not really necessary but sometimes fun for certain kids and at worst detrimental to confidence and a waste of time. It’s just the age op |
Anonymous
| Wait a year. |
Anonymous
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OP here. I was thinking of dropping but thought he may improve after a few classes. We’re on class number 3.
All of the children are supposedly 3 years old - some seem more mature than others so I assume they’re closer to 4. I can’t tell if DS is just super immature and behind for his age. |
Anonymous
OP here. Funny - my DS always says “more karate!” after class and asks to go almost daily, but with him being home with us for the past year due to Covid, I’m wondering if he’s just enjoying a new environment and running around... |
jsmith123
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I remember this with my DS at this age, but with soccer. The other kids dutifully followed the instructions, and he was literally running laps around the field pretending he was an airplane.
6 months later, he was ready. It's not about being behind so I wouldn't think about it that way. |
Anonymous
No, they're not necessarily older. Some kids follow directions well in a class setting even younger, but it doesn't really matter. Try not to compare. Your kid sounds fine and just needs to follow his own timeline. |
Anonymous
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I have a 3.5 year old who just started gymnastics classes (really just a general movement class but they call it gymnastics). She is great at listening and following directions and I think the reason why is that she does online yoga classes once a week. She started when she was about 2.5 and at first we had to do them with her and help her the whole time, but eventually she could do them on her own and learned how to watch the teacher and copy her moves. So by the time she started with gymnastics, she already had some body awareness and was used following along with a coach/instructor has they talked through it and demonstrated.
I don't think her dad or I showing her would have had the same impact (and I used to be a children's dance instructor, so I know how to do it!). She had to learn how to listen to an adult outside of her immediate family and how to take cues from someone who wasn't necessarily focused just on her. It's a different skill set. So I agree taking him out and trying again is a good idea, and maybe try some online movement classes to see if that helps. Cosmic Kids on YouTube is great and they have themed classes to appeal to kids different interests, and make it a story which helps hold their interest. |