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ShawnaB
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| Posted: June 20 2006 at 10:46pm | IP Logged
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I am wondering...how do you handle children going in and out and in and out and in and out until you feel like the hinges on the door are going to fall off??
Its glorious summertime here, and I love the mob of children (mine and others) who congregate at our home and in our big backyard, and in our big sandboxes...but I am losing my mind as they go in and out and in and out (you get the picture). Mind you, these are sand-coated children, and I just swept a hill of sand off of our staircase.
Also, I think every drinking vessel in our house was dirty today as the children go in and out and in and out to get water, each time using a new cup!
I feel like "mean momma" when I forbid everyone from coming inside...but lately I've been tempted to lock all the doors and place a water jug outside!
What do you all think is reasonable to require of children? Do you make your kids stay outside once they have gone outside? If so, for how long? How do you manage indoor/outdoor play?
Sometimes I think that having the option to come in, or go back out, makes for discontent....why can't they just settle somewhere and play??
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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Rebecca
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| Posted: June 20 2006 at 11:04pm | IP Logged
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ShawnaB wrote:
| I feel like "mean momma" when I forbid everyone from coming inside...but lately I've been tempted to lock all the doors and place a water jug outside! |
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I do this quite often when the baby is asleep.  I have a big Coleman drink cooler that I fill with ice water. Each child gets a cup with their name on it and they can fill it all they'd like.
Shawna wrote:
| What do you all think is reasonable to require of children? Do you make your kids stay outside once they have gone outside? If so, for how long? How do you manage indoor/outdoor play? |
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I do not interfere much unless they are in the mud or the "pond" (our backyard floods quite often). Then my rule is that once they come in, they are done. My Christopher likes to go out and play in the water or mud, come in, change his clothes and go back out to play in it again.
Shawna wrote:
| Sometimes I think that having the option to come in, or go back out, makes for discontent....why can't they just settle somewhere and play?? |
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The times that I make them stay outside, they seem to get along swimmingly. I also do not have friends over in the house unless it is winter and we have planned it in advance. Summertime everyone plays outside. My home is very small and we have a 1/2 acre to play on. I think there is more to do out there anyhow.
Edited to add: I don't lock the doors, just tell them they have to stay outside unless there is an emergency. Our back door is right next to where the baby sleeps so when they come in and out, she wakes up because she hears the door open and close.
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ALmom
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 1:41am | IP Logged
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I hate the water and mud mess - and have a few that do the number of coming in to change and then go out to get dirty again. One slipped out in church shoes (cause the tennis shoes got too muddy) and got them all muddy too. I like the once in from the mud, in for good.
We have more trouble in and out when there is snow - but I do put up with that for a while because we generally don't invest in all the warmest clothing (like snow shoes for everyone) and I know dc need to warm up. I also know the snow will be gone in a day and won't come back till next year so it's a temporary thing - a treat of sorts.
Now one thing I will do is lock all but one door. This way all dirty traffic is confined to one door. I also specify sometimes where outside - ie only in the back yard. This helps me keep tabs better. I do require the 3 yo to have at least one older sibling with him. He was letting himself out the front door to be the first to the mailbox so he could claim the stamps. I didn't think it was safe for 3 yo to be practically in the street by himself. Of course he was doing this before I figured it out and put a stop to it.
I also require their inside toys to be picked up before going out and the outside toys (including any of daddy's tools) to be picked up before coming back in. I do have to allow emergency runs which can be frequent - for potty breaks. There is usually a very distinctive trail of mud. We're working on it - My dh built a shoe shelf for just inside the back door. Everyone is supposed to deposit shoes there immediately upon entering. This is working pretty well except when one child has been too busy to come potty when he first needs to - and has to make a mad dash at the last minute.
I do try to help my most frequent offenders recognize the extra work some of this carelessness causes by having them be my partners in sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor. At our house it could probably be done several times per day (at least after every meal and at the end of the day), but we don't get to it that often.
Love to hear everyone else's strategies.
Janet
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Bridget
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 5:12am | IP Logged
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It sure can be a challenge!  Sometimes they do it often and sometimes they settle into play for a while out there.
I do try to monitor the in and out when they are playing in water, sand or mud. But I don't lock the door or make them stay out for a set time. I want to know what's going on.
We have a bit of woods and nooks and crannies of trees in our yard. I can't always hear or see what the children are doing.
The other day they found bones scattered about a small area in the woods. ick. They tried to assemble them to figure out what it was. I was glad to know about it so I could make sure they washed extra well when they came in.
I also think part of the constant in and out is just them checking in with me. I never want to discourage that. Even my 13 year old will come in to tell me how many baskets he shot in a row, or their latest nature find. I don't ever want them to feel that I'm off limits or they can't come and talk to me.
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Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
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Lisbet
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 7:04am | IP Logged
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Bridget wrote:
I also think part of the constant in and out is just them checking in with me. I never want to discourage that. Even my 13 year old will come in to tell me how many baskets he shot in a row, or their latest nature find. I don't ever want them to feel that I'm off limits or they can't come and talk to me. |
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Good point!! I just caught myself yesterday, "Why do you have to come in here and tell me every little thing!!" Need to watch that.
This in/out thing is a constant struggle here as well. We have a very small yard so it's pretty easy to keep tabs on everyone, but it's also very muddy. They only come in the back door, so at least the trail of mud is confined to the kitchen.
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
Mama to:
Nick, 17
Abby, 15
Gabe, 13
Isaac, 11
Mary, 10
Sam, 9
Henry, 7
Molly, 6
Mark, 5
Greta, 3
Cecilia born 10.29.10
Josephine born 6.11.12
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Servant2theKing
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 11:22am | IP Logged
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One thing we've done, with good results, is keep a dishpan or washtub full of water near whatever entrance we want the children to use (thankfully, we have a basement door they can use). You can use a bar of soap, tied inside an old nylon, and attach it to the washtub handle, or hook it to an outside faucet. Keep a dry towel somewhere nearby. (If you have an old fahsioned washtub the handles are perfect for hanging the soap nylon on one side and a towel on the other) Train the children that they MUST wash up before coming inside and you may actually find that they make less trips in and out!
I like the idea of a drink station, too! If you really wanted to go all out you could set up a tent or screen house with snacks, drinks and a place to wash up! Another good idea is to designate outdoor play clothes that only get washed once in awhile...we keep ours hanging on the line outside when wet, or on pegboard in the basement. With clever planning you can anticipate the kinds of things the children keep running in and out for and find ways to lessen the need for house visits! Of course, special finds like a skeleton or new butterfly are a MUST SHARE, and shouldn't be discouraged! We keep butterfly nets, sporting goods, squirtguns, sidewalk chalk and the like in boxes or baskets on our porch where they're readily available for impromptu play!
One of the delights of Summer is endless outdoor play! Making it pleasant for children and moms alike is a win/win situation for everyone!
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MaryM
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 11:27am | IP Logged
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Servant2theKing wrote:
| One thing we've done, with good results, is keep a dishpan or washtub full of water near whatever entrance we want the children to use (thankfully, we have a basement door they can use). |
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Awesome idea!
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Mary M. in Denver
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ShawnaB
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 11:53am | IP Logged
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Servant2theKing wrote:
One thing we've done, with good results, is keep a dishpan or washtub full of water near whatever entrance we want the children to use (thankfully, we have a basement door they can use). You can use a bar of soap, tied inside an old nylon, and attach it to the washtub handle, or hook it to an outside faucet.
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Oh, that's great! I'm off to find an old nylon. I have 3 extra little ones coming today, so its a good time to start a new system. I just pulled out the ice tea jug with a spigot for outdoor water dispensing.
I too LOVE outdoor summertime play, and all the impromtu possibilities.
Thanks for these management tips.
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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Erica Sanchez
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 6:52pm | IP Logged
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Only one thing to add:
I have colored, platic cups that my own kids use daily. Each child has their color (same color everyday) and it sits on the counter all day. The one great thing about it, besides not having a bunch of cups around, is that I know who drank their water or not. Throughout the day, I'll keep filling them up and will even say occassionally, "everyone come in and drink their water". Hydration is a biggie for me, especially in the summer.
I have enough of these colored cups, in various shades, that if we have a family or two over, it usually works for them to have their own cup. If we've got lots and lots of kids for a party or Little Flower meeting, I just print their names on plastic cups.
Our lot is small (southern california!!!), but we have a decent sized backyard with a trampoline. My computer is in the kitchen which is where the back door is, so it is easy to monitor the goings on (I usually get on the computer if they are outside all day).....the spring is broken on the screen door, so lately I've been saying "close the door, the flies are coming in", alot!
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 22 2006 at 10:44pm | IP Logged
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Well, the only thing that works for us is that I have a no shoes in the house rule now. Each child has a pair of mud boots and a pair of old sneakers that stay on the porch and these are their outside shoes. This keeps alot of the mess outside.
Their good clean shoes (church, etc) are kept in their rooms but removed at the door also.
But mostly when they play outside, they just go barefoot!
Keep the sandbox as far from the house as possible, so that alot of the sand falls off before they hit the door. You could keep a small wisk broom by the door so they can brush sand off themselves before they come in.
All that being said, I totally do not regulate how often they go in and out. But, if they track in a mess, they all know how to clean it up.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Indoor/Outdoor Mayhem!
