Every night before bed, my son and I read and pray together. Then I give my standard encouragement to wake up on time, and he makes sure his alarm is set.
When I hear it go off at 7 a.m., I wait about 15 minutes. If he doesn’t get up on his own, I play cheerleader by enthusiastically announcing the beginning of another day: “It’s time for school — a brand new day! Get out of bed, hip hip hooray!” If he remains in bed, I turn into an amateur opera singer and bellow songs, such as the “Hallelujah Chorus” (slightly altered): “Hallelujah, it’s a new day! Hallelujah, it’s a new day. Hallelujah!”
He gets up to stop the noise.
Oddly, when the alarm sounds the morning following one of these songfests, he is much more likely to get up without my help, and far more willing to learn the fine trait of personal responsibility.
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2010 issue of Thriving Family
magazine. Copyright © 2010 by Jennifer Hoggatt. Used by permission. ThrivingFamily.com.
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