Wait cards: free printable wait and turn-taking cards

Who it’s for

Young children learning to wait, children who find waiting very hard (while a snack is made, a turn on the tablet, a sibling on the swing), and small groups taking turns in a game. Families, preschool and kindergarten teachers and therapists all use wait cards.

How to teach waiting with a wait card

1. Start with a tiny wait. Hand over the wait card, count two or three seconds, then trade the card back for the thing. The first waits should be easy to win.
2. Always come back. The card means “it’s coming”. If the thing never arrives, the card stops meaning anything.
3. Make the waits longer slowly. A few seconds, then ten, then a minute. Go back a step on hard days.
4. Use the countdown for longer waits. Cover or cross off one number at a time. The check means the wait is over.
5. Notice the waiting. “You waited! Here it is.” Then hand it over straight away.

Taking turns

Page 2 is for games, the swing, the tablet and anything else that has to be shared. Put a photo or a name in each box of the Now and Next board. When a turn ends, next moves up to now, and the next person goes into next. The person waiting can hold a wait card, and everyone can point to my turn and your turn as the game goes on.

When the answer is really no

A wait card only works when the thing is coming. If it isn’t (the park is closed, the cookies are gone), say so plainly, and offer something else with a choice board. Keeping “wait” and “no” apart keeps both of them clear.

What’s on the PDF

• wait
• 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
• my turn
• your turn
• now
• next
• 2 blank cards

Printing tips

• Laminate both pages. Cross off countdown numbers with a dry-erase marker, or cover them with small sticky notes.
• Keep a small wait card on a key ring for the store, the doctor’s waiting room and the line at the slide.
• Glue photos of the people who take turns onto the blank cards.
• The playground board has wait, my turn and your turn too, for waiting your turn outside.
• Two long waits with boards of their own: a grown-up busy with a new baby (that board has time-with-me cards), and a church service (that board has a quiet bag list).