Every school morning for 30-45 minutes, the three youngest children have alone time in their rooms while the rest of us read history and fold laundry. The preschool girls select a special toy. I usually give Hunter a stack of board books and sometimes one of those annoying vTech toys.
We started him at about 15 minutes and quickly moved to 30. Now he'll play for up to 45 minutes without complaint.
The benefit beyond getting some uninterrupted school work done, is that I can put him in his crib at other times when I need the toddler contained (think getting ready for church, making dinner, etc.).
I don't have unscheduled Crib Time more than a couple times per week because I don't want him to realize that I'm trying to get him out of the way for a couple minutes. Plus, I don't ever want him to see his bed as a punishment. I tell him excitedly that "It's time for Crib Time!" Making sure he has plenty of safe things to look at, I can leave him for a few minutes to get some things done.
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Such a great tip!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with this method and did it with my kids...sadly they don't fit in cribs any longer! :) Ha!
ReplyDeleteI used to have a portable Grayco crib/playpen that I used for this. My littles had play pen time during school with a set of toys in each corner -- like stacking cups in one corner, little people set in one corner, and I can't remember the other corners at the moment! Maybe some of the larger Duplo blocks? But, you get the idea! I wish I had been blogging back then, not that I had the time, but you do forget those little things that you think you will never forget! It is a blessing that you record these for your own memory, to aid your children when they have little ones of their own, and of course to encourage many moms out in bloggy land! :)
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