It's Tip Jar Tuesday today at the Peel! Today's tip is for those of you with toddlers. Hope it helps you! It's revolutionized bedtime and nap-time for us!
Tip #7
The 5-minute trick.
Does your toddler fight you when it's time for bed? The Blue-Eyed boy sure would for us. He would eventually go with us to do our bedtime routine, but there was a lot of complaining and "I don't want to's" along with it. It was an annoying and frustrating way to end our day. Then I learned the 5-minute trick. This has completely changed how our boy goes to bed. Here's what you do:
About 5 minutes before it is time for your toddler to get ready for bed. Ask him or her "Would you like to go to bed now, or in 5 minutes?". They will inevitably pick the 5 minutes. But they are picking when they go to bed (at least as far as they can tell). Then when the 5 minutes are up you tell them it's time for bed.
What happens next is magic: a willing and happy toddler who runs off to their bedroom to pick books. Peace--it's a beautiful thing.
Try it out! And let me know how it works for you!
Today’s Pattern Story (Simplicity 2507/2115)
4 days ago
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3 comments:
This is right out of the "Love & Logic" playbook. I suggest you read anything about Love & Logic because it all works wonderfully. The secret is in giving choices, but the trick is, while they think they've got power because they get to choose, the truth is, you ultimately still have power. We learned about this in teacher school and one of my friends uses it all the time in her 5th grade class. Anyway, there are several Love & Logic titles to choose from, and the author is Jim Fay. They are available at local libraries as well.
Wow, neato. I didn't know that. I had actually heard this from our Pastors' wife. So maybe she read those books?
I'll have to check those books out, thanks so much for the heads up!
Hi Jessica! I have used these strategies in my classroom for 7 years and they work! It gives students/kids the feeling that they are making their own decisions. (even though adults are manipulating the choices)
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