MOM! I'm HUNGRY! Can I have a SNACK?

Do you feel like all your children do all day is ask for food, say they're hungry or hang out in the kitchen all day?  Until a week ago, I was going crazy trying to explain to my children that they need to wait a half hour for snack or lunch or dinner.  What is a half hour to a 4 year old?  That is not measurable time for them!  It's like asking you, how long is a minute in heaven.  You don't know what time is like there because you haven't experienced it, you haven't been taught!  To a child, 3 minutes is an eternity (just ask them when they are in a "time out" or "take a break").  Instead of being frustrated that they don't understand a half hour is 30 minutes, teach them the importance of time by making them their own clock!

Making a clock is easy or getting one online is even easier (and less time consuming).  I Googled clock and found mine- complete with red and blue hands!  I copied the image, then pasted it to a Word document and printed it out.  Once I cut the 3 pieces out, I laminated them.  You can use scotch tape to hold the hands in place, or even sticky putty.  Normally I would have used a brass fastener to hold the hands in the middle but evidently those were lost in the move.  I put the clock next to the real clock so they can compare the hands.  You could even stick red and blue stickers on the hands of the real clock to show each hand more clearly.  Make sure you put the right color on the right hand or they might never get that snack.  FYI- if you have a clock with a second hand, this can be tricky for them.  You'll have to explain the second hand simply by telling them that it drank too much coffee and is a little crazy, much like Mommy is in the morning.    

Teach your children the value of time by showing them.  Teach them the dying art of reading an analog clock!  They still teach this in school, so children need to know it!  Not only will their teachers will be elated, but your life will be so much easier when your children runs to you and asks you, "Is it time to EAT yet?".  You simply ask them to go check the clock!  "Do the two clocks look the same?"  Don't forget to change the clock after each meal. :)

Please remember this one thing.  The minute you put the clock up, they aren't going to automatically get it.   Remember they don't know how a clock works until you show them.  You will have to take a minute each time your child asks, to go to the clock together and compare the hands.  The first day will seem like an eternity to you, checking and comparing the clock every 5 minutes, but each day will get better.  About the 3rd or 4th day, you will be able to ask them to go check the clock by themselves.  **Alacadabra** No more, "MOM!!  When do we eat?"

Happy Clock making MOMentous Friends!