Wednesday, March 25, 2009

How I got my early-bird daughter to stay in bed!

Works For Me Wednesday: How I got my early-bird daughter to stay in bed!
I have a 3 1/3 year old pre-schooler who likes to get up at the crack of dawn. First it was 6:30am- then 6:00am- then 5:30am- and she would get up and wander around the house. I finally had enough! Right around when the time changed I got her a small digital travel alarm clock. I covered the numbers with tape so only the first number shows. I told her she could get out of bed when the clock said "7". I also drew a number 7 on a piece of paper and put it next to the clock on her bedside table. I told her very morning she waited until the clock said "7" and she called mom or dad to come get her- she could put a marble in a jar. I got a small bag of marbles and a medium baby food jar. I put them on top of her dresser where she could see them but not reach. When the marble jar is full I told her she could shop for a small prize at Walmart or Target. For a couple weeks now I would say she has stayed in her room every morning except one or two times. She is excited to be close to getting her prize!

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3 comments:

JoyMarie said...

That is so smart. What a good mom!

Raise Them Up said...

That's a neat idea! I'm thinking it would work for my son's nap time (which is more of a quiet time now). Thanks for sharing it!

Jennifer (Niffer) said...

i hear you! My son got up at 5:45 this morning (early for him even) he's usually a 6:00- 6:15 riser. I'm planning on getting an plug-in timer thingy for a fish light he has in his room. set the timer for 6:30, when it goes off, he can get up! I'll have to see how it goes. He usually loves special gimmics i set up just for him!