How to get your child to leave the playground without drama!

So you and your kid have been excited about taking her to the friends house for a play group, or been out to the playground or the petting zoo. You spend enough time to explore, play and enjoy and it is now time to leave! but your little guy or gal starts throwing a tantrum and crying because she is still all involved and you Cann't take her away. you give her a few more minutes and then tell her it is time to go, but she doesn't agree. this circus continues till you really have to go because otherwise you are going to be late for something or she is going to be exhausted. Then you have take a screaming kid into the car and drive while she is kicking and screaming. Sounds familiar? many of us have been there!

You could prevent this situation by telling your child about the length of time the she can stay ahead of time. There are various ways you could do this. You can use simple method such as having three different colored cards and show green, yellow, orange, and red at different times, green meaning there is plenty of time to play, yellow meaning that you still have some time, orange meaning that it is time to clean up and pack, red meaning that it is time to wash hands give hugs and say good bye.

If your kid is old enough to know simple numbers, you can agree on when the small hand of the watch or clock is on a certain single number.

If you have a smart phone you could even set three or four different alarms connected to voice recordings that say how much time they have left, etc. It is important that you give plenty of time and warning for the child to prepare himself/herself mentally and physically to leave.

Of course every child is different and none of them read the instruction manual before they were born, but agreeing that there is a set time for their activity and giving enough warnings does work like magic. This will not only help you as a parent to better plan the day with your little one, but also will help your child skills that would accompany them in their future life.