Since becoming a mom, I've gotten a ton of advice. Some good, some bad. I have learned so much from my family and a whole lot more from my friends. I've often wondered if you have received as much advice as I have. So I thought I would share my most favorite piece of advice when dealing with my kids. Here it goes:When you are getting ready to leave someplace or change what you are doing, give your children a warning. Say something like..."ok, in 2 minutes we are going to go brush our teeth" or if you are at a friends house you might say, "ok kids, in 5 minutes we are going to clean up and go home for lunch."
By using this simple method, we have managed to avoid so many temper tantrums. After all, no one likes to be surprised when we change directions and do something else and our kids don't either. It just made sense to me when one of my friends suggested I try this.
Now, its your turn to share. I'm opening up this blog so you can attach your best "mom" advice to share with others. Let me hear from you! Come on, I know you have great ideas.
4 comments:
As you know, the two-minute warning has helped me greatly!! I am so thankful I learned that from you. I must admit that now the kid counters with "five minutes?"
My other favorite tip also came from you: "last one." Whether it be the last cracker or the last jump on mommy's back, if he knows it is the last one, I don't have to listen to him cry for more.
2 things that have worked so well for our family:
1. We play hi/low at the end of every day. What is your hi? low? and what are you thankful for. Each person has to name one of each, then we pray together. On busy nights its a quick way to connect and find out how everyone's day was, one more relaxed nights it opens up good conversation.
2. We play another "game" in which each person has to name his/her favorite thing about every member of the family. We only do that every now and then.
Praise more than you punish and say yes more than you say no.
What a great post! I use the warnings system, too. J isn't big on having surprises sprung on him, so the warnings really help him adjust. My favorite "tip" (if you can call it that) is to pray each morning that God will help you be a good mother that day.
These are some good organization tips I've come across:
1. Use a travel soap container to store crayons to take on the go. That way they don't get crushed like they do in a sandwich bag. We all know what a pain it is to get crayons back in their original container which is usually falling apart anyway.
2. Use empty wipes containers to store plastic (Walmart, Kroger, etc.) bags. I keep a wipes container full of bags in the car at all times. :-)
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