"Alone Time"

When we were down in Dallas, TX last month, the boys and I went to the Dallas Training Center and met up the Bell's. While we were there, I had the opportunity to glean some great parenting tips and advice from Mrs. Bell. One of which was "Alone Time". She said her daughter has trained her children to play for one hour each day alone. They have special "Alone Time" toys and places they each go in the house for this hour. She said that her daughter has found that this has had a huge impact on sibling harmony.

So, today I implemented it for the first time. I set the timer for ten minutes, put Michael in his room (with a gate at the doorway) and Lil J on the couch. I plan to gradually add more time each day until we work our way up to an hour. The result? Michael stood at the gate and cried for about half the time. Lil J loved it and was sad when it was all over (so was Mommy). I think Michael will get used to it, but I think his feelings were hurt to be stuck in his room by himself. I hope to persevere though. I am desperate for them to learn to get along. Most days it seems that every moment they're both awake they are continually fighting and aggravating each other. It makes for no peace and absolute chaos as I am continually refereeing their arguments. (Of course my ref calls are always met with vocal disagreement by the losing party)