Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Taking Advantage of The Drill

Every night before bedtime I say the same 4 words to my children. And every night, those 4 little words work their magic. The words? "You know the drill."

I say these words to my kids as they finish up their desserts and I finish washing our dishes from dinner. That is their trigger to start winding down and getting ready for bed.

The drill in our house consists of:

  1. Finishing dessert quickly and bringing the dishes to mom
  2. A final clean-up time for the day
  3. Going potty, washing hands and faces, and brushing teeth
  4. Getting pajamas and putting them on
  5. Meeting on the couch for before-bed prayers
If one of the kids has an issue with this routine on any given night, I don't take the blame for it. "Hey, we just do the drill. Don't blame me for the rules of the drill." They just don't have a response to that.

That's how the drill works for me every single night. What works for you?

Head over to Rocks In My Dryer for more Works For Me Wednesday.

13 comments:

Delighted Mom 10:02 PM  

I'm gonna have to write this one down! :)

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Susie 10:15 PM  

Kids function much better under predictable circumstances. Having a catch pharse to but the routine in motion is a great idea though. I might borrow that:-)

Carol 8:24 AM  

Love it!

We have code words for clumps of tasks, too. For my son "Do your business" means go poo then take your shower. He'd kill me if he knew I'd posted that somewhere. hah!

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet 8:48 AM  

Yep, my kids have a drill, too, although haven't had a catch phrase. :D

Elizabeth 3:10 PM  

This is GENIUS!!!!

Bonnie 3:48 PM  

You know the drill ! I love it !!

Anonymous,  4:00 PM  

Great idea! Saves all those extra words coming out of your mouth. Gotta try this.

Raise Them Up 10:36 PM  

Sure hopes this will work for me! I need a new line!! Thanks:)

Michelle 1:06 AM  

I agree that kids function much better on a routine.I replied to your comment about the pictures on the blog.I used picnik it's free or paid.

Nicole 10:58 AM  

What a great idea. I need a drill with my kids. bedtime is chaos in our hosue.

Steph at Problem Solvin' Mom 11:25 AM  

Aren't routines great with kids? I love your take on this, I'm going to have to start using it!! :)

Niki Jolene 3:09 PM  

Cool concept!

:)

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