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Time Out Bottle

My mom shared with me this idea she found on Pinterest (Yes, she is now officially a Pinterest junkie!!) and I tried it out for myself.

It's a time out bottle designed to help kids not only sit in time out effectively, but to calm down as well!  Caleb can get kind of nasty when he is sent to time out (not my son!), which sometimes leads to bigger issues.  This is one of those, "Can't hurt, might help!" ideas, so I figured why not???


The complete directions are found at the link above, but basically, I added a little clear Tacky Glue, about half a tube of glitter glue, some glitter, and some water.  I didn't measure anything, but less is more.  I added small amounts until the glitter fell to the bottom in about 5 minutes, using my microwave timer to test it out.

The key is to use HOT water.  I put it in the microwave for about 4 minutes to get it boiling.  The heat helps to melt the Tacky Glue, or else it will clump.  So make sure your water is really hot!

Do yourself a favor and just follow the directions from the beginning.  I didn't have clear Tacky Glue, so I tried using oil.  NOPE! It doesn't work at all.  Just get all of your materials right off the bat and it will be a whole lot easier.

The verdict?  Caleb put himself in time out to try out the bottle.  For real.  He LOVES it!  He reminds me all of the time that he can't shake it (like, in anger) once his time out is started, because he will just have to stay in there longer!

He even shook it for Abby, then told her she had five minutes to finish eating before the glitter fell to the bottom.  (But she could have a little extra time if she needed it, he said!) :)

I think the best part, for us at least, is that he really is mesmerized by the glitter and it really does help him to calm down.  He's so focused on the glitter that he forgets why he was freaking out.  It also works for when he's not really in trouble, but is just getting too wild and crazy!

If you have a Wild Thing like me, try out the time out bottle!  It might just buy you a day...

Comments

Dana said…
I love that! My girls are too old for time out now, but this would have been wonderful. I ended up with furniture piled in front of the bedroom door once during time out (that was after she wouldn't sit in her time out chair, we put her in her room). This would have been great!

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