So, every man needs a toolbox. I saw this at Target, and decided it was time for my son's initiation into manhood with his very first toolbox. The other reason I decided to get this is because we started independent play time today. There's a great book that I just read that we plan on implementing some ideas from. It's called Creative Family Times. It's only 60 pages long, but it has some great ideas. It was recommended to me by my co-teacher at North Wake. She's an AMAZING woman. She has 6 kids 8 and under, and her children are so wonderful. They are all so well-behaved, well-adjusted, social, etc. Talk about amazing. So, I asked her for some advice because Josh would wail everytime I left the room - we're talking extreme separation anxiety. And ignoring it wasn't getting any better. She recommended the book, and it teaches how to begin with 10 minutes a day of independent playtime that builds to 30-60 minutes of "sit" time for your two-four year olds. She said that she did it with all but one of her children, and that child she had to go back and reteach. Basically, she realized that with 6 kids, they needed to learn to play independently as well as together, so this is a way to build to that.
So, in preparation for his first 10-minute independent play time, I decided a new toy and cheerios were in order. He did GREAT! He played for 15 minutes by himself in the pack-n-play (so that he would be safe), and Mommy got some things done, and Josh was fine. I went back in after 15 minutes and scooped up an adorable and happy baby. We've also started working on not rewarding the "fuss/whine cry" with attention or "rescue" from Mommy or Daddy. Talk about hard, but we worked for the entire morning on it (trying for both Mommy and Josh), but after his nap, he did great. He had remembered, and instead of working himself up into a full-fledged fit, I would tell him "Josh, no" in a calm voice and he'd stop and get back to playing. Hopefully, this trend will continue...I'll keep you posted!
No comments:
Post a Comment