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One of my favorite "toys" to use with kids is the timer! It can be used for announcing good things and refocusing attention, as well as correction. Teaching kids to respect and value time increases their capacity for consideration of others while increasing their self-control or regulation. Timers can assist in developing the following communication skills:
listening
anticipation
patience
enduring a task
completing a task
working under timed pressure
following a schedule
focus
planning
The timer PLAtime bag is stocked with 2 timers and 7 "toy-type" fun activities for you and your child to enjoy together while building communication and relationship skills. It is great to use first when kids are between 2 and 3 years old. Repeat around 2nd grade and when learning to tell time on a clock. Then repeat periodically in 3rd-5th grades as they increase their independence in time management for assignments.
The following are added "tool-type" uses for parents to use personally or with their children. Cell phone or microwave/oven timers are great to use for these goals.
Set a timer for 2-10 minutes and work aggressively to finish a task (shorter times for younger children). Then set for 5 minutes and do something enjoyable! Rotate this repeatedly until the required task is complete. (It is amazing how many toys can be picked up or clothes can be folded in 5 minutes when a trampoline frenzy or dance party is rotated into the task! This ends the procrastination and lessens the drag time!) The rotation can also be great for homework!
On Saturdays (or a day when your whole family is home), set it for every 2 hours in a manner your child will not hear (i.e. vibration of your cell phone). When it goes off, take a moment to be thankful for one family member. Reset and repeat. The next week when it goes off, make eye contact with one family member and smile at them each time it dings. The next Saturday say, "I love (admire, respect, etc.) you"; the next Saturday, each time it rings, do some other small gesture only you would do to communicate your care to each member through the day. Then challenge yourself to repeat all 4 things on one weekday if possible! Weekdays can be a bit harder with all the other things goin on!
Use the timer to "announce" good things (i.e. "The cookies are cooled and ready to eat!” “It is time to leave for a friend’s house!”). Tell the kids to listen for the timer to know when they can come and enjoy!
Have the timer go off as a gentle reminder that there are only 3 (or 5) minutes left before going to bed, getting in/out of bath, leaving for school, leaving the friend’s house, cleaning up from free play, etc and they need to do or gather any last minute things.
If you are worrying over something or someone, set it to hourly and pray each time it sounds surrendering the worry of that hour.
Set alarms for bedtime and awake time to keep you on a consistent rest cycle to maintain your relational strength.
Immitate the “Trolls” movie and let everyone know that the timer will be signaling “HUG time” and participate in family hugs all around. Only do this on the occasional day for a couple hours or it may lose its humor and relational power. This is good in seasons where sibling rivalries seem to have increased in frequency.
Enjoy and maximize your time efficiency with these ideas! Feel free to add any of your own personal uses in the comments section.
Key Ideas to think and say to your kids while you play with time:
“See how much you can do in so little time!?!?!?”
“Look how much time we have left to free play now that we finished the _________(i.e. laundry, cleaning room, dishes, sweeping, dusting, etc.)!
“See how far you read and how much you know about the character when you kept reading the entire time!”
Optional Scriptures (for adults to ponder prior to and during play): Psalm 31:14-15; Colossians 4:5; Ephesians 5:15-16; Ecclesiastes 3:11; Galatians 6:9
Enjoy and PLA well!
