Blanket Time

One of the things I miss about teaching is the sharing of ideas between teachers. Every year brought new challenges along with a new group of children with different little personalities and behaviors. As a teacher, you are a forever learner. I loved it and it's probably why I have taken on so many new "projects" as a stay-at-home mom. I was the last of my sisters to have a baby and one of the last of my friends as well. I love this because they always share with me what to do and what NOT to do. For instance, my little sister told me to do play pen time with Presley because she didn't do it with Reid and she felt she missed out on some of the benefits of implementing this routine when she had Grant. So I took her advice and started doing it when she was able to sit up on her own. I knew very early on that I would be "that mom" who implemented a schedule and routine the day my child came home from the hospital....I know, how could I? Gasp! But, it's the only thing that made sense to me. My little first graders loved a routine and thrived in a classroom with a routine so I couldn't imagine throwing my baby into a life without routine, structure, and a schedule. A few months ago, I was reading Pre-Toddler Wise where I noticed a little section in the book titled blanket time. I read through it rather quickly and then thought to myself, "when would I ever use that"? So I dismissed it and continued on my merry way of reading. Then, my daughter hit 14 months old and pre-toddler behavior invaded our home. So, I went in search of advice...again. As I was researching, I came upon a blog called Common Sense Parenting (it's basically the same thing as The Chronicles of a Baby Wise Mom). The author went into great detail about blanket time and the benefits of doing it with her 15 month old daughter. She mentioned that children learn from seeing good behavior modeled and from having the opportunity to practice that behavior. She chose to do blanket time with her child because she said it taught her about boundaries, obeying mommy, having self-control and self-discipline. Sounded great to me! I grabbed a timer, a blanket and some toys. I put Presley down on the blanket and told her to "stay on the blanket." The first day I did it I started out with the advised 3 minutes and Presley did great with it. She sat there on the blanket for 3 minutes playing with her toys. The next day, I set the timer to 10 minutes and sure enough she sat and played quietly for 10 minutes. Then, a week after starting blanket time I was able to put it to use! Presley and I went to Colorado to visit my grandparents and on the way back home our flight was delayed several hours. I was a total mess because I was traveling alone with Presley and I knew she was going to get restless. So, right there in the middle of the airport I pulled out her blanket and did blanket time with her. She sat on the blanket playing with her toys for 15 minutes...she didn't leave the blanket once! I couldn't believe it. Of course, by then, I was patting myself on the back congratulating myself for being such a great mom....ha! It was very short lived people. I usually try to do blanket time once a day. I do play pen time in the morning so I can take a shower and get ready for the day. In the afternoon, I do blanket time instead of play pen time. It wasn't long until Presley started testing me and this so called "blanket time." At first, she would test me by placing one foot on the rug and then look at me to see my reaction. When I saw her do this, I couldn't believe that this little girl was actually smart enough to "test" her boundaries. I really had no idea what to do so I just decided to ignore it...bad idea because that lead her to push the limits even further. She began running off the blanket and then back on...turning around in circles and laughing all the while! Oh great, My child thinks that "breaking the rules" is super fun. I wont tell you what I was thinking at this point, OR where my mind went, but let's just say the term, "party girl" was in the midst of my agonizing realization. Anyhow, after weeks of modeling, practicing, and high chair time outs we have worked our way back up to 10 minutes. I will spare you all of the details, but basically this blanket time has given me great insight into my daughter's mind. It has allowed me to model good behavior and try different methods to see what works and what doesn't...because we know that what works with Presley probably wont work with the next one. I will say one thing...after blanket time is over I give Presley my undivided attention and play with her so that she has some sense of there being a "reward" at the end of it.