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June 26, 2005

The Nannies’ Terrific Timer

Two-year-old Scott would become so wrapped up playing with his Thomas the Tank Engine that he wouldn’t want to come to the table for dinner. Even when I gave him ten minutes’ notice, there were still cries of protest. I knew that the only solution to this nightly struggle was my Terrific Timer—which was nothing more than a simple kitchen timer for helping kids having a hard time adjusting to everyday transitions. Here’s how it worked with Scott:

I would set the timer for ten minutes, place it near where Scott was playing, and tell him that when the bell rang, it would be time to finish playing and come to the table for dinner. Scott was clearly intrigued; even on that first night, I could sense him listening for the timer to go off. After a few days with the timer, Scott no longer refused to come to the table. Instead, he would jump up when it went off, because he understood clearly that the buzzer meant it was time to come to the table for dinner.

- Excerpt from Nanny Wisdom - Chapter Five, Secrets from the Nannies Kitchen – Giving Your Children a Healthy, Balanced Diet.

Posted by Justine Walsh on June 26, 2005. Send to a friend.