Sometimes the best advice is also the simplest. My brother and his wife Kelly were in town this weekend, and I always gleam a new tidbit of parenting advice from them whenever they are around.
This week's gem was the "five minute rule."
When at the playground, or any sort of fun, playing situation, it is very helpful to warn the kids that they have "five minutes left before it is time to go."
Really simple, right? But it is amazingly effective at cutting down the whining and cries of "I don't want to go yet!" The kids make sure to get a solid five minutes of playing in and really enjoy it, and then we are ready to go.
My other sister takes a similar but slightly different approach. She will ask her kids, "Do you want to leave now or in five minutes?" Thereby letting them feel as though they have some sort of choice and control of the situation.
While these tips might not always work perfectly, they worked a lot better than the parents I saw yelling at their kids that they had to leave right then.
On a similar note, I used to have a client who wanted me to warn her when she had ten minutes and then five minutes left in her hour-long massage. She didn't like to be caught unawares and she wanted to make sure she fully appreciated every minute.
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