Plans changing

It started raining

What happened

Rain running down a window with a ball on the sill inside

You were going outside to play. It started raining.

What do you want to happen?

For the grown-up

Rain is the one here with nobody to ask and nothing to negotiate, which is why it often lands harder than it looks. There is no unfairness to argue about and nobody to be cross with. Naming that, and then getting the wellies out, does more than explaining weather.

Say what they wanted before you say what can happen. A child who is handed a solution first hears it as being told off.
The true thing beats the soothing thing. “The cup is in the wash” is something a child can be disappointed about and then get past.
Wanting the impossible thing is not a mistake. It is what they want, and this resource agrees with them before it says anything else.
It works far better on a calm day than in the middle of one. Going through it when nothing is happening is what makes the words available the next time something is.

This is a rehearsal tool, not an assessment, and it does not know your child. You decide whether what it says fits them — if a scenario is not right, close it and pick another.

You were going outside to play. It started raining.

What do you want to happen?

Make the rain stop — You wanted the rain to stop right now.
Go out in the rain — You don't mind getting wet.
Play the same game inside — You want that game, just not outdoors.
Not play at all — You stopped wanting to play once it rained.

Nobody can turn the rain off. But you can still choose what to do.

What can you do instead?

Put wellies on — Yes. Wellies and a coat mean you can go out anyway.
Choose an inside game — Okay. There are games that work indoors too.
Watch the rain — Okay. The window is a good place to stand.

Nobody chose the rain. You can choose what happens now.

For the grown-up: Rain is the one here with nobody to ask and nothing to negotiate, which is why it often lands harder than it looks. There is no unfairness to argue about and nobody to be cross with. Naming that, and then getting the wellies out, does more than explaining weather.

All 33 situations