Two Minutes
When you are 2 1/2 years old, 2 minutes is perhaps the only time span you can comprehend. Longer than 2 minutes is just inconceivable. In Isaac's life two minutes is really important. It defines two things that he really, really cares about: how long he stays on the naughty step and how long he has left before going some place he doesn't want to go to. Here is how it works.
Isaac gets in trouble and has to go sit on the naughty step. It is the bottom step on the staircase between the first and second floor. We have a small cooking timer and when it goes off, he can get up off the naughty step. But those two minutes, oh god, those are the longest two minutes ever. A few tears and sobs come out, but end around 1:30. Then it is just the wait. Seconds turn in to hours. By the time it rolls around 30 seconds he is ready to spring off the steps and I am about ready to just smash the timer. But then we do the count down after ten and he springs up ready to go.
Then there is the "two more minutes" request. Usually we go upstairs to go to bed, he needs a countdown.
"Isaac, are you ready to go?"
"NO!"
"We have to get going, buddy."
"NO! Two more minutes please."
We set the same timer and then let is go. Isaac goes into a fun trance and tries to squeeze the last few hours of fun in a few minutes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But when the timer goes off, Isaac knows he got a fair shake and is ready to go. A few times he has even gone upstairs on his own. Pretty good kid. Now, he is so used to the ding, if he DOESN'T hear it he thinks we are cheating him of time. "No ding yet" he'll tell us.
Isaac gets in trouble and has to go sit on the naughty step. It is the bottom step on the staircase between the first and second floor. We have a small cooking timer and when it goes off, he can get up off the naughty step. But those two minutes, oh god, those are the longest two minutes ever. A few tears and sobs come out, but end around 1:30. Then it is just the wait. Seconds turn in to hours. By the time it rolls around 30 seconds he is ready to spring off the steps and I am about ready to just smash the timer. But then we do the count down after ten and he springs up ready to go.
Then there is the "two more minutes" request. Usually we go upstairs to go to bed, he needs a countdown.
"Isaac, are you ready to go?"
"NO!"
"We have to get going, buddy."
"NO! Two more minutes please."
We set the same timer and then let is go. Isaac goes into a fun trance and tries to squeeze the last few hours of fun in a few minutes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But when the timer goes off, Isaac knows he got a fair shake and is ready to go. A few times he has even gone upstairs on his own. Pretty good kid. Now, he is so used to the ding, if he DOESN'T hear it he thinks we are cheating him of time. "No ding yet" he'll tell us.