Just after New Years, Leo and I were strolling through the mall and I had a moment of genius. At that time Sadie was at the peak of having bedtime issues. Lots of hopping out repeatedly, sitting at the top of the stairs, down-right refusing to cooperate. There was lots of yelling, crying, bargaining, pleading, threatening (from both her and us).
At the mall, amongst the 50% calendars - I bought one chuck-full of Disney. When I got home I explained to Sadie that if she stayed in bed (no getting out!) she'll get a sticker for that night. If she built to 10 stickers in a row, she'd get a treat. At first she'd say "Ah, that's ok. I don't want a sticker anyway" but deep down she did. Then she went on a roll, a perfect angel at bedtime. We'd go about 4 days, then have a slip up - but totally minor.
To show some incentive, we once went out for ice cream after a streak (but the place was closed, so she had to deal with what we had in the freezer). The next prize she picked was a Build-A-Bear Hello Kitty. And today was the day she got to redeem her prize.
Having this system has really worked, particularly since Leo goes to bed at the same time. If she was still up carrying on, we'd have issues. Next she wants Kitty to have an outfit at Build-A-Bear...a Sleeping Beauty gown to be exact.
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