Timers that "ding" work great to transition

[Learninggentleness]

I just wanted to share my new discovery (although many of you may already do this :O). When it's time for Caleb to go take a nap, go to bed, or transition to anything else at any time, I have found that a timer works wonderfully. He knows that when the timer beeps (usually after about 3-5 minutes, although it could definitely work for a longer time period too) he needs to move onto whatever I asked him to do. I have done this for a couple days now and he has transitioned with joy :smile :clap I'm so excited about this because I forsee it helping us a lot. Thought the idea might help some of you as well...

[mummy2boys]

Sarah....we use this as well and it is very handy :tu

[boonpnutsmom]

as both of the older kids can at least recognize numbers now, lol we don't use the timer so much as I tell them when the big hand is on this or that number then they aren't constaly asking me when is the timer going to go off. Because of my OCD tendancies we have so many clocks in the house, there is virtually no room in the house that doesn't have AT LEAST ONE CLOCK. And we try to keep them all the same so that if they move from room to room they are getting confused by differences in time. :)

[Irene]

I bought a timer once for this purpose, but it was packaged so I didnt know how loud it was and it scared the bajeebers out of her everytime it went off and so that didnt work out so great :/ never got around to getting another one, but sometimes I will use the oven timer. :)

[mummy2boys]

We use the one on the stove...not tooo loud thank goodness ;)

[Meli]

It's also great for teaching turn taking