Countdown

We were talking about children this morning and one of my volunteers Barbara was relating something she had recently and wished she had known about when she was raising her kids. She said she's tried it with the grandkids and it's worked like a charm...

Basically, treat outtings and bedtimes like the closing of a store.

"Your Target store is closing in 15 minutes. Please make your final selections and come to the registers to make your purchases. Thank you for shopping your Target store."

That is, before it's time to leave the park, or before it's bedtime, give them a countdown. Give them an opportunity to do "the last thing they want do to before they go." That allows the children to believe they have sense of control. And helps you keep things under control, too.

It'll be nice when our little baby is old enough to understand the logic and not keep us up until 2 am. :)