It's all about the "bribe"

The last two weeks after preschool I've had to deal with HUGE meltdowns trying to get Morgan in the car to leave. She loves to run up and down the grassy hill right next to the school. Two weeks ago she ran and ran and ran and just didn't want to leave. Last week it was raining and she refused to listen when I told her it was too wet.

This week I figured out how to get her in the car without screaming and tears. The bribe. Morgan LOVES these Kashi granola bars that I buy for myself. She doesn't get them very often, and when she does it's a special treat. I snuck one in my purse this morning. Once she had run up and down the hill many times and all of her friends were leaving I decided to test things out. I said, "Morgan, I have a granola bar for you in the car." She immediately started saying "Granola bar! Granola bar!" and made her way right over to the car. When we got there I pushed it further and told her she had to get into her car seat before she could have it. There was no messing around...she got right in her seat! I gave her the granola bar and once I packed Piper in we were on our way in record time!

This didn't used to work for Morgan...she usually would ignore me and keep doing whatever I wanted her to stop doing. This is encouraging in that she is understanding what I am saying. I'm sure this won't work in all cases and her stubbornness will prevail, but for this purpose it worked well. Maybe I should consider giving her pieces of granola bar if she uses the potty? Hmm...