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Creativity expert, professor, father and former day care provider Rustin Wolfe applies his scientific techniques to some of life's smallest — but most exasperating — problems weekly at MinnMoms.com.
Here's one of his creative parenting solutions:
YOU, AGAIN?
Question: I may just lose it if my daughter gets out of bed one more time. How can I get her to stay down once I put her to bed?
Behavior: Won't stay in bed.
Problem: Child will be tired and parents need some time in the evening.
Solution: Adults read a book to wind down. Why can't children?
Activity: I remember spending hours as a child following the cracks on my bedroom ceiling. When my son had trouble settling down, it was clear to me the problem was that his mind was abuzz. Our instinct is to remove all stimulation at bedtime, but that just forces a child to seek it out. Instead, we can control what kind and how much stimulation they receive. In my son's case, we set up a "one book, not two, and no do-over rule." Each night, he could have a single book in bed. Most nights, the book was never even opened, but it helped him focus just to know it was there.
