Plans

Dear Reader,

I love plans and routines. I always have. My mother recounts that as a child I would handle situations much better if I knew the plan ahead of time. Apparently, I seem to have passed along this trait to my little boy.

For the last year or more, I generally give a time allotment to everyday events. Five minutes until we brush our teeth. Two minutes until it's time to come to the table for dinner. One more minute and then it's time for stories and bedtime. I'm amazed at how effective this placement of time works out - far less frustration and concern for both of us. Isn't it interesting that assigning an often arbitrary amount of time is more settling than just moving into the next event of the day?

There is now a new twist. In the last month or so, my son has now started sharing a three or four step plan for our events in a morning, afternoon, or evening. He begins by saying, "Here's my plan..." Where did he get that from?! (Now I catch myself saying this and realizing how much he is listening.) He does a nice job including within the plan my ideas as well as his own, and usually the order of activities makes sense. When one of his plans is in effect, we don't even need the time frames for each activity either.

I've noticed a number of the preschool television programs include the subject of sequencing. Maybe these shows have influenced this recent planning habit in my boy. And perhaps some osmosis is also at work.

Sincerely,
Abi