SUPERNANNY...

...Is my HERO! I used to love watching her show, but got out of the habit because it came on right when we were having Family Home Evening. But, now that Kallie is involved in our FHE's, we have it earlier and it's a lot shorter--so I'm getting back in the Supernanny groove. What I seriously wouldn't give to know what she knows about dealing with kids. I'm just glad she's sharing some of the wealth and providing me with a few tools to deal with my 2-year old.

Along with all of the fabulous tantrums Kallie has been throwing the past few weeks, she has also decided that she doesn't like staying in bed. We always thought she was such a good sleeper--but it turns out she appeared to be so because she was contained. Lately, it seems like getting in and out of bed are a new sport in our home. We have tried what seemed like everything to get her to stay...from not talking to her and not making eye contact when we put her back in bed, to taking away her stuffed animals one by one, to sternly telling her that it's bed time and she needed to go to sleep. NOTHING WORKED!! So, I finally remembered a Supernanny episode that I saw a long time ago about getting your kid to go to sleep. As a last ditch effort, I looked it up on her website, http://www.supernanny.com/.

Tonight was the first night that we tried what is officially called the "Sleep Separation Technique." You do the nightly bedtime routine and then sit in their bedroom in the dark so they can see your profile but aren't making eye contact and wait for them to fall asleep. When they get all the way out of bed, you pick them up and put them back in, still no talking and no eye contact. Each night you do the technique, you move closer and closer to the door until you no longer have to sit and wait for them to stay in bed.

It took Kallie 30 minutes to fall asleep. She got out of bed 7 times, threw her 5 stuffed animals, blanket, and pillow on the floor, (she managed to pick up a few without getting out of bed--the rest will have to wait until tomorrow), provided 3 "sessions" of poking mommy--either with her hands or feet, stood on her bed to open her blinds and look out the window, and pulled a pair of pants out of the drawer on the bottom of her bed. And, she tried to fake me out more times than I can count by dangling her legs over the side of the bed and kicking them to see if she'd get a reaction. But, I was strong! I didn't even flinch, (except the times when she was making me smile--and I had to try to keep a straight face), and she finally got the hint.

Kallie's a pretty smart cookie...so hopefully that means she'll catch on quickly. But, part of me knows that because she's so smart, it may take a little longer since she's going to try every trick she can imagine. So, Supernanny, I hope this works!!