Some look like a regular kitchen timer with colors, others look like a traffic light, or you can even choose a sand timer. To implement a timer in your child’s life, we recommend you choose one that shows the passing of time. Children do better when they feel better, and eliminating any anxiety over what is going to happen soon can help them feel more in control. When children can actually see the passing of time, they can better understand it.
Implementing visual timers for kids at home is a great way to help anticipate transitions for your child, time management, foster independent play, and reduce any power struggles when setting boundaries. Let’s take a deep dive into visual timers and how they can help our day-to-day parenting journey. While timers aren’t a magical solution, with enough time and consistency, they can assist in helping hard transitions feel easier for our children.
If a child understands when an activity ends and another one starts, they will be more willing to collaborate and accept this transition. Visual timers are a great collaborative tool that help children anticipate and navigate transitions more easily. The other reason is that children do not understand the concept of time ! Not only because they can’t read a clock, but for the first 5 years of life, children have no sense of time, meaning that 1, 5, or 10 minutes feels the same way to them. One reason is that children want to do things that make them feel good! They want to stay at the park or avoid taking a bath because that means that bedtime comes after. Managing transitions is probably one of the hardest day-to-day challenges. It is completely normal for a toddler and child in preschool to push boundaries, oppose, and have trouble regulating their emotions (your child’s tantrums are actually a sign of healthy development), and have trouble transitioning from one activity to the next. While we can’t make those behaviors disappear overnight, we can use tools and skill-fostering techniques that are both respectful and encouraging for our kiddos.ģ strategies and tips to integrate timers into daily life Parenting is the most rewarding job in the world but sometimes you just wish you could walk out the door one morning without having to plead with someone, clean up a spill, or have an epic battle over clothing choices.įrom a positive parenting perspective, an important component of making everyday life easier and fostering skills in our children is understanding there are behaviors that are developmentally appropriate for children. Have you ever told your child it's time to leave the park only to be met with a huge emotional response? Yeah, me too!
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