Giveaway - and Getting Co operation from the kids ...?

My little boy is fiercely independent and has currently been very good at testing the boundaries. I just accepted this as a'Stage' and let it frustrate me as it would, then as I visited a favourite parenting blog of mine, this banner jumped out at me.



So I clicked on it to see what 'positive parenting tools', it had to offer, not that I was in the market for any.
I perused the variety of clever magnetic organisation charts available and a light bulb went off in my head.

My Daughter is a child who is eager to learn and thrives on praise. My most difficult time of the day with her was after pre School ... unpacking bag, also I was repeatedly telling her to pick up clothes after a bath and tripping over her shoes in the hall.

My testing the limits Son was in a stage of refusing to have a bath, or do any of the hygiene things at bedtime ( toilet, teeth ) but the bath ... the start of the evening routine was the beginning of the evening battles for us with him. He always respond well to sticker rewards. It was how we helped encourage him when he was toilet training and we have used sticker reward charts with some sleep issues/routines for him too, and ... he loves magnets! Perfect.



Before I knew it two personalised evening routine charts were in my cart, and pretty quickly arrived at my door and made their way onto our fridge. This is the reality of our fridge, pretty pictures I like and encourage but also want to keep an element of reality here. So here it is fingerprints and all.

My kids have pretty similar routines and My daughter has an extra magnet. Up until now I have introduced a new thing to her and then a week later introduce that thing to him. He sees her doing it and knows what to expect. Moving the arrows along at their own pace, ( Mr 3 calls it his Mouse ....Hmmm ... too much computer time being modelled me thinks.) showing where they are up to is great and at the end of the routine there is a 'Ready for Bed' reward magnet.

I let Mr3 play around with his within parameters, so I'll let him swap teeth and toilet, and he does like to turn them sideways and upside down, I don't get too fussy with it as I want him to own it.
Since introducing these I rarely have clothes outside the bathroom door on the floor any more and if I do we go look at the chart and I'll say Oh have you put clothes away yet? which will result in someone scampering off to do what they know is the 'clothes away' routine. Bath time is accepted and happens without complaint, saying a few nice words and handing over that ready for bed reward smiling purple face is the last thing we do before they head off to bed.

This chart has really helped us to have our evenings run more smoothly.
I am thrilled with the product Sarah from little Billies offers and more than happy to promote it as it works for us and I see such potential in it for others too. Sarah and I have struck up a rapport through the Mummy blog network and twitter and as I was intending to write this post I asked her if she would offer something as a give away  for my readers.



So Sarah has kindly offered a $20.00 gift certificate!
Pop on over to her site linked through the logo and see what you think might work best for you in your home, come back here and tell me in a comment and your name will be in the draw to win! I'll keep this open for one week and draw a winner next Tuesday the 1st Dec.

Comments

  1. Yay... my little girl is still small (just 1) but I've been looking at these for weeks! Glad to hear they work for you!... I would love to get the "my week" visual schedule
    Thanks Tammy & sarah!

    mara

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  2. As I don't have kids on my own, I would like to win the gift certificate for my sister-in-law. I can see mother and son benefiting from morning and evening routine magnets. Thanks for the giveaway! I'll be blogging about this on Thursday too. :) me@salihan.com

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  3. wow what a fab idea!! love it! I woul dlove the 'my morning' & 'my evening' for my 5yr old and 'my reward chart stage 1' mr-almost-2. and how tops is their website design, love it!

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  4. I love the Reward charts. My son responds very well to the visual records of things he has done well.

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  5. Oh Tammy this makes me think of things to come with Finlay and I would love to be entered into the draw for your giveaway.

    Lisa.x

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  6. mmmmm let me see....ALL of it! And four times over! My faves are the routine chats, we really struggle with that. Thanks Tammy and thanks Sarah (who in now one of my tweets and I now also read her blog!)

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  7. Hello all! It is Sarah from Little Billies. I am not entering the comp, LOL!

    Just wanted to say how nice it was to read all of your lovely comments! Thank you.

    Have a great day/evening.

    Sarah x

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  8. excellent idea! I have a chart for an older child I'm looking after, but the 3 year old is more difficult. I'm a foster carer and I know I'll be having various kids in and out of the house over the years. A chart that is personalised with the word 'routine' or 'jobs' or 'helping' or 'responsibility' would be great!
    des
    www.backpacks4aussiekids.org

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  9. What a great idea, i hope that it keeps working for you.
    Linda

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  10. I <3 the reward charts, and how in addition to helping teach life skills, it also teaches kindness, sharing & helping!

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  11. I have been trying to make a chart with visual pictures for months now, but time seems to get in the way. This is fantastic

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  12. I have been trying to make a visual chart for months, but time keeps getting in the way. this would be fantastic

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  13. My Reward Chart Stage 1 would be perfect for my son - a great idea!

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  14. What a great idea! It was hard to decide but the day chart would be great to stop the nagging "have you brushed your teeth?", "have you put your hat in your kindy bag?", "have you put your shoes on?" etc etc. Come to think of it, one for me would be great too (still suffering from the effects of baby-brain!)

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  15. How cute, the reward charts are such a nice way to raise kids properly, and teach them values!

    Selena

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  16. my grand daughter whos just turned 4 would really benefit from this girft voucher, well actually her mother would.... pleaase help a nanny lol

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  17. My son begins school next year and I do worry about him getting ready on time as he is a little bit of a dawdler. The Morning Routine Chart would be absolutely beneficial for him :)

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  18. I think the My Week schedule would work really well in our house. My little boy doesn't like surprise activities so it might help him to be able to see them on a chart.
    anna.courtney(at)virgin(dot)net

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