… lead to drastic measures.
Chance seems to have “outgrown” his naptimes. But Mama needs some “pull-it-together” time everyday. So, we’ve compromised to having “QUIET TIMES”. Sometimes, he falls asleep… but usually not.
This is what we usually get:
Here’s a close-up of the situation:
Yeah. He’s quiet… but NOT in his room. He likes spying on me.
The other situation is his “poopy” habits. He CAN and HAS gone poopy in the toilet, but he’d RATHER go in a diaper during his quiet time. Go ahead and judge me. It’s ok. I don’t know you’re doing it anyway.
So, yesterday… my mother-in-law says,
“Why don’t you start a sticker chart? I did that for Kevin (Brian’s older brother) when he was little and it worked really well!”
Chance likes stickers… and he LOVES to be praised for doing something well.
She’s BRILLIANT.
Off to Target for posterboard and stickers.
Sorry for the not-so-great quality picture of the chart. I was lazy and took it with my iPhone.
Since it’s Tuesday today, Monday doesn’t count for the week. It’s only fair.
Let’s see how this goes.
Rewards work every time! You’ll find that you are not above bribing as a parent……
You spend $5 and get him to go for the reward.
Yes, Jan. The idea is that at the end of the week, we can go get a dollar store toy of his choice if he has all the stickers in place.
I am SOOOO hoping this works.
My Mother use to hit me. Id say it worked pretty well.
BWAHAHAHA!!! Blake!!! Your mom SO reads my blog… and now you’re REALLY gonna get beat!
I gave M&M’s. One for pee, 2 for poop. Until my oldest learned how to pinch it off every inch or so.
As for naptime, I had a special box that I would change up every few days. It had quiet activities like shoe lace sewing cards, rare books, etch a sketch & always a small snack. I would put my little one to bed w/ that box & they could do whatever they wanted w/ the stuff inside as long as they stayed quiet & in their room.
You have to mix it up though. Have the same toys for only a few days, then trade out 1 or 2. The rotation keeps it fun.
I used to have one for when I was going to be on the phone. They only got to use the stuff inside while I was on the phone, then it went back on top of the fridge.
I did the stickers for a while and it worked wonders, but Mikaelyn likes to play with and save $$, so we would give her a penny for #1, a nickel for #2 and so-on. Cheaper than stickers actually!
)
I think quiet time, special quiet activities are a great idea. However, I would say, don’t sweat the poopie part of this. As far as poop goes: all the bribery, treats, toys, goodies will only make it more fun for them and more infuriating for you when it doesn’t go your way. They are going to poop in the pottie when THEY ARE READY. This is one of the 3 areas that they truly have contol over their little lives…REAL control.
We had “Funny” the amazing …puppet… (really just my mom’s hand peeking around the corner in the bathroom). He talked with us and got really excited when he heard pee-pee and went crazy when he heard poopy. And sometimes Funny came out at dinner and got in trouble, which only made us want to see him more during potty time. Then one day (after we were all potty trained, incidentally) Funny was banned from the house, and has only been seen twice since. I think he got banned because he dove into my dad’s water glass and sprayed him in the face…
Can you make one for me? I am having trouble making the toilet as well. LOL
A friend introduced me to The Fishbowl, and it was fab. Choose your budget, write out ~10 things that can be purchased within the budget, and put them in the fishbowl, plus another handful on non-cost things (i.e., 30 minutes of TV, foot massage, favorite meal, etc. One successful sticker week = one thing out of the fishbowl. It was great for E to learn how to work toward something and, when she was older, she could save several fishbowl choices toward something bigger. (Yes, we had a redemption sheet. Go ahead and laugh.) Once she decided to redeem the whole shebang for a trip to the Enchanted Forest…K
Wow… these are all AMAZING snippets of ideas & advice! All except Kurt. HAHA!! I’ll make you a chart too!
Mandy – the box of goodies… GREAT IDEA. The M&M’s didn’t work for Chance after the first week. He’s not really motivated by candy. He’s been known for turning away desserts. Weird… I know.
Sarah Jean – Chance LOVES coins. I think we will be doing this as well. Maybe as his final collective prize
Jilly – thank you. I heart you and your encouragement.
Monica – I am a bit scared now.
Karen – I’m ALL about redemption sheets. You know me.
This is so freaking cute, I love it! I can’t wait to have kids… Jenny I just hope my friends are as creative and experienced as yours
Oops, JENNI!!! My sister in law is Jenny so I slipped
Amanda – you’ll be surprised how much you’ll learn from your friends. I just soak it up