You know the scripture, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." I'm seriously thinking it was referring specifically to bedtime and school.
Lack of a bedtime schedule, that is, and the beginning of school.
AGH!
School starts this week and all of my parental attempts at trying to get my children to go to s.l.e.e.p on time has been absolutely, positively fruitless.
So come Wednesday morning, when day dawn is breaking, that will be the sum of all my fears.
* * *
There's something to be said about remembering.
For because I find that I am more inclined to hang on remembering the bad and easily forget to remember the good.
I'm figuring it has to do with the "natural [wo]man" in me.
And in order to put off that natural woman I must find ways to remember the good.
For me, writing down the good is how I preserve what I need to remember.
The other part is reading (and rereading) what I have written so I will remember.
* * *
Because I just want to mention: Bed time at our home is like herding cats!
And those darn cats of mine have not gone to sleep yet.
Boy, I wish they were dogs.
Because you can at least send dogs to obedience school. . .
Aww, that's what we're doing this week, aren't we?
Yup, back to my fears . . .
* * *
Happy Birthday, dear President Monson!!
Sleep Rules Sticker Chart!
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids were old enough to talk, I made them a sticker chart. Then for FHE we taught them The Sleep Rules:
Lie Still
Close Eyes
Be Happy
Stay Quiet
Got To Sleep ("go seepies")
They had it memorized within a few minutes. We explained that every night, if they obeyed their sleep rules, they'd get a sticker on their chart in the morning. I showed them the stickers...sometimes I'd set it out for them. Then, we reviewed the rules right before saying goodnight and left the room. At the first sign of breaking the rule (talking, getting up, crying etc), I'd go back in and, apologetically pick up the sticker that they were going to get, explaining that they hadn't obeyed their sleep rules. There was much begging for one more chance...and I pretended to be a softie and "give in" for ONE MORE chance.
That was it! They somehow went from being up for drinks, more kisses, stories, or tales of monsters under the bed, to just going to bed and that was it. Ever since then, our kids have just stayed put when they go to bed. We recited those five rules every day for years. We taught how it was important for our bodies to have enough rest, and to obey mommy and daddy when it was time to go to bed. And that if we just lie still with eyes closed, and were happy and quiet, we'd fall asleep.
The sticker charts were customized to each kid. I got a 1/2 sheet of posterboard, and made it almost like the Candyland board game...with a winding trail from one corner to the other. Every 7 or so squares had a sticker (star or heart etc) on it...and on those days they got a special treat. Every 30 or so squares I colored a bright color and put a SPECIAL sticker on it, and that meant a fun trip to, say, McDonalds with playland for an ice cream cone or some kind of outing. These were their incentive for obeying their sleep rules. I decorated their charts with stickers of things they loved (Bonnie was, at the time, completely enamored with all manner of tropical fishes...so hers is an "under the sea" theme. Brandon's was Thomas The Train, and his trail was actually train tracks).
Anyway, these five simple rules revolutionized our nights. They completely liberated us, and it happened literally, overnight! I got prepared in advance with the charts, stickers, and the special treat jar, had the FHE lesson tying anything in that I could, and then we memorized the rules and went over them many many times till they had internalized the concepts and "got it". Then it was bed time: moment of truth. Except for that first test of the sticker, things were amazing. I've shared this system with a number of moms who have employed it with their kids, and things at least improved, even if they weren't perfect. Just a FWIW idea. ♥
Thanks for the (bed)timely advice! I'm going to put together eight little posters for tomorrow night and watch the miracle happen! :)
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