the pass

My girls are experts at wearing me down.

Shocking, I know.

So lately I've been trying to come up with creative systems

that cut out the manipulation before it starts.

Sometimes it's worked,

other times it hasn't.

"The Pass" is one thing that has really worked.

Hannah loves to get out of bed at night again

and again

and again

and again

well - you get the idea.

No excuse is beyond her reach.

And no form of discipline has really deterred her from the goal

(which I'm assuming is to not fall asleep).

So I gave her a pass.

One pass to get out of bed.

Like a "get out of jail free" card.

She gets the pass before going to bed.

She can choose to use the pass (and turn it into me)

or keep it until morning and turn it in for a prize (like a piece of gum).

And it worked like a charm!

Most nights she's kept it until morning (she loves gum!).

A few nights she's used it once.

Notes:

-I never told her what would happen if she came out again after using the pass.

She never asked and never tried.

This was a bit shocking to me.

-We used this very regularly and successfully for about 2 weeks.

Now on most nights she forgets and we forget.

But that's ok because she's now in the habit of staying in bed anyway!

-We give a bigger prize on the nights that a babysitter puts her to bed.

She struggles more on those nights, so we figured the prize should be bigger.

-We don't do this for Sophia.

What works for one child doesn't work for every child.

Plus she isn't struggling in this area - yet.

I'm loving getting creative in coming up with systems that work for my kids.

It's great to cut the manipulation out before it starts!

And I'd love to hear your ideas.

What systems work around your house?