Waiting Game Patience Practice Fun

A visual timer or phone timer (visual timers are better because kids can see time passing)

Small treats or stickers as rewards

Fun objects to hold during the wait (optional — stress balls, fidgets)

Start with a 30-second timer: "Can you be perfectly still until it beeps?"

Make it fun — freeze as a statue, balance on one foot, hold a silly face.

When the timer goes off, celebrate: "You waited the whole time! That's incredible patience."

Add 10 seconds each round and see how far they can go.

Try the classic marshmallow challenge: put a treat in front of them with a 1-minute timer.

If they wait, they earn two treats. If they eat it early, they just get the one. No judgment.

Debrief: "Was it hard to wait? What helped you?" Name the strategies they discovered.

Start easy. Thirty seconds feels long when you're 4. Build up gradually over many sessions.

Give them a strategy before starting: "Try counting in your head" or "Look at the timer."

Never shame them for not waiting. Say "That was hard! Let's try a shorter time."

Practice this before real waiting situations: "Remember the waiting game? Let's play it while we wait for our food."