Since motherhood is often an on-going exercise in feeling clueless, those few-and-far-between moments of feeling wise and knowledgeable become moments to be treasured. And written about.
Lately we've been having a hard time getting going in the mornings. We're all extra tired, and getting Dallin to school on time has been a bit of a miracle. We've been having particular issues with getting dressed, and for once, they don't really revolve around sensory issues. They're just normal, 6-year-old, "I want to play around rather than get dressed" issues.
So this morning I'd been nagging, er, reminding, Dallin for about 20 minutes that he needed to get his clothes on or he'd be late. I was getting rather frustrated. But then, down from the heavens comes this fantastic idea! I don't know how I thought of it!
I set the timer for 5 minutes and told him that if he was not dressed by the time the timer went off, I would have to dress him myself--and he might not like the ensemble I selected. I went upstairs and started putting together the most ridiculous outfit I could think of. I pulled down his baby blue Sunday shirt, a pair of sweats he hates, a pair of underwear he refuses to wear, and then went looking for socks. I couldn't find any of his own socks, so I pulled out a pair of James', obviously a million sizes too large.
By the time I got downstairs, he was dressed, and it only took two minutes! I don't think he's ever gotten dressed so fast in his life! He even had his shoes on! I guess the threat of me picking out his clothes was motivation enough! He about died laughing when he saw what I had chosen. He carefully asked me if I would have really dressed him in it, and I told him "of course!" (Although I would have let him change before school.)
Now I'm curious to see what he will do next time I threaten this. I think it might eventually get to the point of me having to actually act on my pronouncement.
The best part of all this was that not only did he get dressed without any further nagging, but we both had a good laugh.
Lately we've been having a hard time getting going in the mornings. We're all extra tired, and getting Dallin to school on time has been a bit of a miracle. We've been having particular issues with getting dressed, and for once, they don't really revolve around sensory issues. They're just normal, 6-year-old, "I want to play around rather than get dressed" issues.
So this morning I'd been nagging, er, reminding, Dallin for about 20 minutes that he needed to get his clothes on or he'd be late. I was getting rather frustrated. But then, down from the heavens comes this fantastic idea! I don't know how I thought of it!
I set the timer for 5 minutes and told him that if he was not dressed by the time the timer went off, I would have to dress him myself--and he might not like the ensemble I selected. I went upstairs and started putting together the most ridiculous outfit I could think of. I pulled down his baby blue Sunday shirt, a pair of sweats he hates, a pair of underwear he refuses to wear, and then went looking for socks. I couldn't find any of his own socks, so I pulled out a pair of James', obviously a million sizes too large.
By the time I got downstairs, he was dressed, and it only took two minutes! I don't think he's ever gotten dressed so fast in his life! He even had his shoes on! I guess the threat of me picking out his clothes was motivation enough! He about died laughing when he saw what I had chosen. He carefully asked me if I would have really dressed him in it, and I told him "of course!" (Although I would have let him change before school.)
Now I'm curious to see what he will do next time I threaten this. I think it might eventually get to the point of me having to actually act on my pronouncement.
The best part of all this was that not only did he get dressed without any further nagging, but we both had a good laugh.
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