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I have a just turned 2 yo dcb who really struggles with listening. E.g. ignores me when I call him, wanders off, difficulty following directions. He is mildly delayed language wise but this has improved since joining us. I only have him part time so I feel like I am always starting over with him. How much is this just 24 mos old boy stuff and how much can I attribute to being behavioural? I feel like he is more like an 18 mos old sometimes. Any tips?
I think a lot of it probably has to do with him not having been in daycare before (I am assuming he has been at home until he started with you?). I have a 2 year old dcg who has also had a very steep learning curve when it comes to following directions, listening, following rules, etc. She runs away and does not stop when told to stop...which is the scariest. I have made a ton of progress but it is taking a lot of work. I have been training her to listen to "stop" when we are in the house coming in from outside. If she stays with me and listens when I say stop, she gets praise, if not she goes back to the stroller and has to wait a bit and try again. When outside, she has to be strapped into the stroller or holding my hand. She was at home before she started with me...she has no concept of rules it seems. She is not delayed at all and very smart. I have another dcb about the same age who is quite delayed in language and pretty much everything, but he follows rules better because he has been with me since he was a baby. Since yours is only part-time, it may take quite a lot of time and effort to teach him your rules.
I terminated a 2 year old child early this year who had so many issues I couldn't possibly tell you, but listening and comprehension regarding instructions were two of the frustrating issues. Every time I brought something up to the parents they fluffed it off and didn't listen. I started to envision in just over a years time when he goes to JK the teacher asking why they had never address all his problems before and they would blame it all on me for never telling them. Pffffft! Basically, I reached my patience limit and had to terminate.
If the parents had worked with me I would have continued working hard. That's my unwritten rule for myself. I don't know how you feel about that.