learning to get up on your own
and tackle the work of the day is a life skill.
I purchased alarm clocks for the girls when they were around the age 6 or 7, so there has been an alarm clock in the older and younger Blossoms' rooms for a while now.
Initially, I set it for a reasonable time, somewhere in the neighborhood of 6:30 - 7:00 am. For the first two weeks, I walked back to their room and reinforced in a calm and cheerful voice that it was time to rise and shine. I joggled their shoulders. I turned on the lights. I was persistent... because we have places to be...
in the living room for devotions, outside for chores, and in the school room for school.
Just because our commitments happen at home, doesn't mean they aren't serious business.
After about a week or so, they were used to rising on their own, turning off the alarm, getting dressed, and coming out for morning quiet time. Success! We have established a healthy habit!
As a mom, having the girls learn to rise on their own, gaining this independence, has brought a healthy freedom to our mornings. I still make time for hugs, snuggles, and affectionate morning time, of course.
Here are a few things that I prefer in the alarm clocks we buy:
~ I like the kind that keeps the alarm set every day, even after it goes off in the morning. Then, they don't have to set their alarm every night.
~ I also love the kind that has two alarm settings. We keep the most common rise times in those settings.
~ Because we live in the country and power outages are frequent enough to be annoying, I prefer the alarm clocks with battery backup.
~ I prefer the super simple, easy to use, basic alarm clocks.
~ I prefer the large display so they can see it from ANYWHERE in their rooms.
~ I love buying the same alarm clock for everyone if possible so it's easy to keep track of how they work.
Teach your children to rise independently and you've helped them to be on time for their jobs later in life. It's a life skill worth investing in today.
Dominique
