The concept of time

How do you teach the concept of running-out-of-time to a 4 year old?
My DD (4) understands the concept of time as in if she's not in school
by 8am she'll be late. What she doesn't understand is if she doesn't
brush her teeth by 6:15, we won't be at school by 8. She has a very
active gag-reflex. I think brushing kinda repels her. I do buy very
pretty toothbrush and yummy toothpaste.

She knows how a timer works because I use the oven timer for timeouts.
I don't know if getting a timer for tooth-brushing is an overkill or
common practice. What else do you do to get the kids moving in the
morning?

Thanks.

wrote in message
ups.com...
How do you teach the concept of running-out-of-time to a 4 year old?
My DD (4) understands the concept of time as in if she's not in school
by 8am she'll be late. What she doesn't understand is if she doesn't
brush her teeth by 6:15, we won't be at school by 8. She has a very
active gag-reflex. I think brushing kinda repels her. I do buy very
pretty toothbrush and yummy toothpaste.

She knows how a timer works because I use the oven timer for timeouts.
I don't know if getting a timer for tooth-brushing is an overkill or
common practice. What else do you do to get the kids moving in the
morning?
Egg timer works well for #1. Tell her she has 5 minutes to do something and
15 minutes later she'll be irritated because I'm "nagging" her when she was
"just about to start. Put an egg timer in front of her and tell her it has
to be done before the sand runs out and she'll have done it in 90 seconds.

My children got the idea of time because of buses. I don't drive so we catch
the bus/train and if we've missed it that can be it. Normally I will allow a
spare bus for getting to an appointment, but they know if I say that we need
to be out for the bus now then we may not go if we miss the bus because of
them.

You could try getting a digital clock and doing a timetable.
You have to be up by: 6:00
You have to be dressed by 6:10
You have to brush your teeth by 6:15

She might quite enjoy that for a few weeks anyway!
Debbie

wrote:
How do you teach the concept of running-out-of-time to a 4 year old?
My DD (4) understands the concept of time as in if she's not in school
by 8am she'll be late. What she doesn't understand is if she doesn't
brush her teeth by 6:15, we won't be at school by 8. She has a very
active gag-reflex. I think brushing kinda repels her. I do buy very
pretty toothbrush and yummy toothpaste.

She knows how a timer works because I use the oven timer for timeouts.
I don't know if getting a timer for tooth-brushing is an overkill or
common practice. What else do you do to get the kids moving in the
morning?

Try an hourglass (or whatever length of time is
appropriate).

For mine, it usually suffices to insist that they
don't get to play (no games, tv, etc.) until they're fully
ready to go in the morning.

Best wishes,
Ericka

"Welches" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...
How do you teach the concept of running-out-of-time to a 4 year
old?
My DD (4) understands the concept of time as in if she's not in
school
by 8am she'll be late. What she doesn't understand is if she
doesn't
brush her teeth by 6:15, we won't be at school by 8. She has a very
active gag-reflex. I think brushing kinda repels her. I do buy very
pretty toothbrush and yummy toothpaste.

She knows how a timer works because I use the oven timer for
timeouts.
I don't know if getting a timer for tooth-brushing is an overkill
or
common practice. What else do you do to get the kids moving in the
morning?
Egg timer works well for #1. Tell her she has 5 minutes to do
something and 15 minutes later she'll be irritated because I'm
"nagging" her when she was "just about to start. Put an egg timer in
front of her and tell her it has to be done before the sand runs out
and she'll have done it in 90 seconds.

My children got the idea of time because of buses. I don't drive so
we catch the bus/train and if we've missed it that can be it.
Normally I will allow a spare bus for getting to an appointment, but
they know if I say that we need to be out for the bus now then we
may not go if we miss the bus because of them.

You could try getting a digital clock and doing a timetable.
You have to be up by: 6:00
You have to be dressed by 6:10
You have to brush your teeth by 6:15

She might quite enjoy that for a few weeks anyway!

Yes, and by the end of the few weeks, she might have her new schedule
in place. It's hard to get across the idea that even though an hour
and 45 minutes seems like a long time, there is a lot to do in it.

Bizby

On May 7, 10:23 am, " wrote:
How do you teach the concept of running-out-of-time to a 4 year old?
My DD (4) understands the concept of time as in if she's not in school
by 8am she'll be late. What she doesn't understand is if she doesn't
brush her teeth by 6:15, we won't be at school by 8. She has a very
active gag-reflex. I think brushing kinda repels her. I do buy very
pretty toothbrush and yummy toothpaste.

Wow! How far away IS school?

I found this site with some ideas on the gag reflex, which might
help. They suggest an electric toothbrush with a very small head.

http://www.dentalfearcentral.org/toothpaste_phobia.html

You could try making a list of things that she needs to do in the
morning. Time her doing them, then put photos of each activity on a
clock so she understands where all of the time goes. She;ll also be
able to compare the clock to what she should be up to doing.

Once One was in kindergarten (5 years old) and we had to be out of the
house by 7:30 or so, we cut out all morning play/TV. (If there is any
unnecessary morning activity, cut that as well. She can pick out her
clothes, and the table can be set for breakfast, the night before.)
He can generally get himself ready, including breakfast, in about 30
minutes.

If all else fails, get her up earlier.

Barbara

wrote in message
ups.com...
How do you teach the concept of running-out-of-time to a 4 year old?
My DD (4) understands the concept of time as in if she's not in school
by 8am she'll be late. What she doesn't understand is if she doesn't
brush her teeth by 6:15, we won't be at school by 8.


Well, I don't understand that timeline myself. What are you all doing
between 6:15 am and 8:00 am? 1.75 hours is an eternity to a child of four!

Connecting toothbrushing to another concrete event , like after waking or
after breakfast, is a lot more practical and understandable to a
four-year-old than having toothbrushing occur at a specific time on the
clock. My children didn't really relate events to the clock until well after
they started regular school, probably first grade (age 7) or so.


She has a very
active gag-reflex. I think brushing kinda repels her. I do buy very
pretty toothbrush and yummy toothpaste.

If you make her brush before she eats breakfast, that might be a turn-off.
Some kids can't stomach the strong flavors of toothpaste (even the mildest
ones can be overpowering to a little kid) on an empty stomach, and food
tastes weird after you brush your teeth.

On May 7, 3:54 pm, Barbara wrote:
On May 7, 10:23 am, " wrote: How do you teach the concept of running-out-of-time to a 4 year old?
My DD (4) understands the concept of time as in if she's not in school
by 8am she'll be late. What she doesn't understand is if she doesn't
brush her teeth by 6:15, we won't be at school by 8. She has a very
active gag-reflex. I think brushing kinda repels her. I do buy very
pretty toothbrush and yummy toothpaste.

Wow! How far away IS school?

I found this site with some ideas on the gag reflex, which might
help. They suggest an electric toothbrush with a very small head.

http://www.dentalfearcentral.org/toothpaste_phobia.html

You could try making a list of things that she needs to do in the
morning. Time her doing them, then put photos of each activity on a
clock so she understands where all of the time goes. She;ll also be
able to compare the clock to what she should be up to doing.

Once One was in kindergarten (5 years old) and we had to be out of the
house by 7:30 or so, we cut out all morning play/TV. (If there is any
unnecessary morning activity, cut that as well. She can pick out her
clothes, and the table can be set for breakfast, the night before.)
He can generally get himself ready, including breakfast, in about 30
minutes.

If all else fails, get her up earlier.

Barbara

OP here. I meant to say 7:15. School is a 30 min drive from our house.

On 7 May 2007 19:25:47 -0700, wrote:

On May 7, 3:54 pm, Barbara wrote:
On May 7, 10:23 am, " wrote: How do you teach the concept of running-out-of-time to a 4 year old?
My DD (4) understands the concept of time as in if she's not in school
by 8am she'll be late. What she doesn't understand is if she doesn't
brush her teeth by 6:15, we won't be at school by 8. She has a very
active gag-reflex. I think brushing kinda repels her. I do buy very
pretty toothbrush and yummy toothpaste.

Wow! How far away IS school?

I found this site with some ideas on the gag reflex, which might
help. They suggest an electric toothbrush with a very small head.

http://www.dentalfearcentral.org/toothpaste_phobia.html

You could try making a list of things that she needs to do in the
morning. Time her doing them, then put photos of each activity on a
clock so she understands where all of the time goes. She;ll also be
able to compare the clock to what she should be up to doing.

Once One was in kindergarten (5 years old) and we had to be out of the
house by 7:30 or so, we cut out all morning play/TV. (If there is any
unnecessary morning activity, cut that as well. She can pick out her
clothes, and the table can be set for breakfast, the night before.)
He can generally get himself ready, including breakfast, in about 30
minutes.

If all else fails, get her up earlier.

Barbara

OP here. I meant to say 7:15. School is a 30 min drive from our house.

Wake up earlier and have a routine. It takes the stress out of having to
get ready quickly. That's not easy, if you don't have an early riser.
Luckily my kids are good at that. I just open the shutters in DD's room,
leave for a few minutes while I get ready, then when I'm back, she's more
easily aroused.

We wake up at 6:30, DS is up at 6:30, DD at 7, and we are out of the house
by 8. Why does it take us so long? We take our time, but it's
stress-free.

"toypup" wrote in message
...
Wake up earlier and have a routine. It takes the stress out of
having to
get ready quickly. That's not easy, if you don't have an early
riser.
Luckily my kids are good at that. I just open the shutters in DD's
room,
leave for a few minutes while I get ready, then when I'm back, she's
more
easily aroused.

We wake up at 6:30, DS is up at 6:30, DD at 7, and we are out of the
house
by 8. Why does it take us so long? We take our time, but it's
stress-free.

I never found that to work well with my kids. The more time we had,
the more we'd waste. I think it's important to have the right
amount -- too little and you're hurried, too much and you waste it and
*then* hurry! Just right and you (hopefully) move smoothly along.
But some kids are just so easily distracted. DS age 9 will *still*
sometimes just space out like he has no idea what he should do next.
He doesn't complain about having to do it, so it's different than
Ted's situation, but it can be a little big frustrating when you've
just asked him to put his shoes on for the third time. Especially
when he knows or ought to know he needs to do it on his own.

Bizby

"bizby40" wrote in message
. ..

"toypup" wrote in message
...
Wake up earlier and have a routine. It takes the stress out of having to
get ready quickly. That's not easy, if you don't have an early riser.
Luckily my kids are good at that. I just open the shutters in DD's room,
leave for a few minutes while I get ready, then when I'm back, she's more
easily aroused.

We wake up at 6:30, DS is up at 6:30, DD at 7, and we are out of the
house
by 8. Why does it take us so long? We take our time, but it's
stress-free.

I never found that to work well with my kids. The more time we had, the
more we'd waste. I think it's important to have the right amount -- too
little and you're hurried, too much and you waste it and *then* hurry!
Just right and you (hopefully) move smoothly along. But some kids are just
so easily distracted. DS age 9 will *still* sometimes just space out like
he has no idea what he should do next. He doesn't complain about having to
do it, so it's different than Ted's situation, but it can be a little big
frustrating when you've just asked him to put his shoes on for the third
time. Especially when he knows or ought to know he needs to do it on his
own.

Same with me. Today we woke up at 8:30 and jumped out of bed in a rush
(school starts at 8:45) and were there only just late.
Some days we're up by 8:00 and the children are too busy playing to do the
boring things like breakfast first.
Debbie