WOT?
My kids want to touch everything all time time. Whenever we go to a store and I’m afraid they are going to break things. I ask them to stop but they don’t. What should I do?
SUMMARY
Kids always want to touch everything and there’s not stopping them. So why try? Let them touch things but with one stipulation: They can only use one finger.
WHY?
Hands provide great sensory feedback. Kids love exploring and touching things to learn about their environment. You can stop them from touching things by force (hold their hands, carry them, make them sit in a chair) but that will only take you so far. Their desire to touch things is still there and probably building.
Rather than try to prevent the kids touching things, do the opposite. Let them touch things but only with one finger. We call it, “one finger touch” and you can start teaching them to do this as babies. Wherever you are, take their hand, pull one finger up and guide their finger to touch things. Every time you do it, say, “one finger touch.” After a while, they will learn to stick out their own finger while you help them touch things.
As the kids become toddlers and start touching things on their own, you can say, “one finger touch” and they will know exactly what to do. They’re touching things, but in a controlled way!
I owe this tip to my friend Christi. It always stuck with me and I knew I would follow her advice when I had kids of my own. Sure enough, it works great! My kids would walk around touching all sorts of things without incident. Sometimes they treat their finger like a little magic wand. As they walk, they stick out their finger, and touch one item and then the next, saying “ding” each time they touch an something. It’s cute and people would comment about how gentle and well behaved they are.
You’re never going to stop your kids from wanting to touch things, and this is a great way to let them do what they want, without having to exercise the “you break it, you bought it” rule.
Note: WOTnWHY is not responsible in the unlikely event that something does break while doing “one finger touch.”