Coping mechanisms

In order to combat the hopeless sense of boredom that overcomes Leta when she is faced with an afternoon of no planned activities, I had her write a list of things she can do at home so that she can reference it for ideas. I thought she’d balk at the idea, but she grabbed that pen and filled the front and back of that piece of paper. The list includes:

– Play on the iPad
– Play on the Wii U
– Play with Barbies
– Read
– Play with Marlo and jump on the bed
– Ask mom if I can play on her computer (it might work)

I love that. “It might work.” Sometimes I tell her no because I’ve got a million things open and even though she has her own login, I get freaked that the hard drive will crash and we’ll all die.

We keep that piece of paper in a very specific place on the countertop in the kitchen so that when she’s bored can run down the list and choose something. So far, it’s working. But I won’t be surprised if we get to a point where she’s like, “UGH. Not that list AGAIN!”