– Hi there. Isn’t it so adorable when your child develops a special relationship with a little toy or a blankie that kinda becomes the lovie, right?

It was such a sweet day when I realized that my son had this really special connection to a stuffed giraffe that he called Maggie and he would take that with him wherever he went and he would sleep with it and he actually got a little smile on his face every time he went to his crib because he got to see Maggie.

It’s adorable, however, it’s much less adorable when they start throwing that toy out of the crib usually at bedtime and then they cry because their precious is on the floor and you have to come in and put it back in the crib and this can go on five, 10, 35 times before your child gives up and a lot of parents say, well, that’s it, if you do that again, I’m gonna take the baby and I’m not gonna give her back but that’s pretty tough to follow through on because you know how important it is to them.

They’re in there crying their little eyes out for it and you are most likely going to back down unless you’ve got nerves of steel which some of you may but most of you are most likely gonna back down on that one and then you’ve done kinda two things.

You’ve taught your son or your daughter that crying for something solves a problem, you’re gonna come back and also more importantly that you don’t mean what you say and that’s so important in all things parenting. Your children need to know that when you say something, you mean it and you’re going to follow through on it.

So I’m gonna give you a strategy here today where you don’t have to say this. You don’t have to back yourself into any kind of corner. All you do when they throw the toy out of the crib is give it a few minutes, right? You don’t need to rush in there the minute they start crying for that baby but at your leisure, you will walk into the room, you will pick up the toy, you will toss it into the crib and you will turn around and leave.

Don’t make eye contact with the child. Don’t say anything about anything. Just quietly pick up that toy, leave the room and wait and see.

If she does it again, again, you will wait a few minutes, you’ll go in, you will pick up that toy, toss it back into the crib, leave the room.

This is such a boring game for your child. He’s not getting any attention from you. He’s not getting eye contact. He’s not getting a tickle. He’s not getting a hug. He’s not getting scolded. He’s getting nothing and that is why he’s doing it.

Most children doing this kind of behavior, it’s attention getting obviously, right? So if you just go in there neutral, throwing the toy in, out you go, he will stop playing this game very quickly.

It might take a couple of nights but for some, it’s just gonna take a try or two before they realize, eh, that’s not really worth it, I’ll just keep my baby.

Thanks so much for watching today. Sleep well.