Room Time

One of the things that takes place almost every day at our house is something we call "Room Time". I heard about this idea when Isaiah was a baby, and it has been absolutely invaluable! It's a period of time that the kids have stay in their room and entertain themselves. We started the kids out in their playpen/crib and then, as they got more mobile, went to having them be in their room with a gate at the door. Now that the boys are older we don't even mess with the gate, they just know that they have to stay in their room. While we were training them for this, we used a timer and began at 20 minutes. With the boys, we've worked our way up to an entire hour. In fact, now, most days when the hour is up, they ask me to leave them in "Room Time" for even longer. It's been great for me because it's the time that I do things like dishes, cleaning, or checking my email. Now, granted, I do have to make trips to the room to break up fights or to stop them from climbing up Mt. Dresser.

Today was Adriana's first official "Room Time". I set her crib up with some toys that I thought would be interesting and got her started on her 15-20 minutes. Both of the boys weren't too thrilled about the whole idea when I first started them. Adriana, on the other hand, took right to it and actually seemed to enjoy it. With all four of us hounding her for cuddles and kisses, she probably appreciated the solitude.



While she was in there, Mommy actually got a quick shower. With little children around, Mommy showers always seem to be a small miracle.