If you have never heard of Blanket Training and you are the mother to a young child
You.
Must.
Read.
This.
 |
| Spending time on the blanket |
I have only used this with my last two children as I had never heard of it before. But it has revolutionized my life while we have a toddler/preschooler in the house.
When I start blanket training around 12 months it is time consuming. But I usually choose a time when I am going to be sitting still for awhile. At times this is while I visit after a service at church, while we are having family worship in the evenings, or while I am working on school with the older children.
I spread out a blanket (most often I try to use my toddler’s favorite blanket as to offer some comfort) on the floor and gather a few books or small quiet toys. I don’t offer very many, maybe three books or a handful of toys. And then I call the baby to me. I tell them that this is their blanket and it is time to sit. I explain that they are not to get off the blanket until Mommy tells them to do so. And then I set them down in the center of the blanket.
 |
| Jeremiah has gotten up to 30 minutes on his blanket at a time. |
I start out wtih a very, very short. I’m talking like 2 minutes. I want it to be fun and easy for the first dew days. Then I slowly add time. I can usually tell that the baby is ready for more time when they begin to engage with the books or toys the entire time they are on the blanket.
 |
| Resting during blanket time |
Or, when they will begin to “rest” and find such security in Blanket Time that they don’t get fidgety before the time is up. I have been very surprised in how well even very strong willed children take to this training. I truly feel that it is because those children love boundaries and security more than most do. It does take a little time but it has huge pay offs. And I wanted to share those rewards with other moms. If you have any questions just leave me a comment or email me. If I have enough interest or questions I will do a follow up post later this week with more information.
Updated – It has been brought to my attention that there are methods out there that are harsh and have resulted in children being harmed during training. Please know that I do NOT endorse those methods. The blanket for me is like a playpen. It is a way to keep the child close but safe. I am there to remind them to stay on the blanket verbally. Our training is full of love, encouragement, and hands on training. They are never left alone or scared into staying on the blanket. Please know that I am NOT endorsing other “philosophies” that I have recently discovered out there.
Have you tried this during church service? Do you think after your child has learned to sit quietly on the blanket that you could move the blanket to the pew?
ALSO! I am not blanket training Madelynn but I am, I guess you would call it “sit training” Madelynn. I am going to have her sit quietly in a chair for 30 minutes a day. My hope is to work up to 1 hour. I think it will help her with self discipline as well as sitting quietly when she needs to.
Oh, I ‘m going to try this with my toddler! It’s been quite the struggle trying to accomplish pre-school with the older while he’s running around, getting into stuff.
I have a 19 month old that I would love to blanket train. I have heard of it, but am not very familiar. I know I need to start this training, but haven’t quite done so. Thanks for your blog post and your godly encouragement!
I feel like there’s a step missing here. You tell the child to stay on the blanket. Then, what do you do if he leaves the blanket before time is up?
I’ve heard about two different ways to handle this. One was to gently but firmly place the child back on the blanket and say, “Stay on the blanket.” The other was to slap any part of the child’s body that went off the blanket. So I am wondering which way you do it…or have you had children who just stay there?
Eliza,
I have never tried it on a pew but I know that I can take the blanket anywhere and they will stay on it most of the time without a fuss so I think it would work. I might even try that soon!!!
I am going to have to give this a try. My third (16 months old) has been my temperamental child and school has been challenging to say the least for my son (just started Kindergarten at home). I’ve tried snacks and activities at the table with us but no luck. Maybe she would do better away from us in her own space? With #4 due in a few short months, not having to continually fight that battle each and every day would be wonderful!
are you kidding me? These are kids we are talking about not dogs. Until they submit? Again, are you KIDDING ME? I dont want my child to “submit”. I want a healthy respect born out a loving, compassionate relationship with her. Good Lord, this is disturbing.
I think this is an awful idea and am shocked that even a few people are thinking of trying this. Kids aren’t dogs that you train. They are supposed to move about and explore their world, not be trained to sit on a blanket and play quietly. Let them be kids and as their parent make sure what they are exploring won’t hurt them. This post just makes me sad.
I have to say that I am surprised that you think “training” a child is wrong! ….isn’t that what we all do? I had never heard of “blanket training” but I certainly trained my child to do many things similar such as when you play in the front yard you are not allowed to move past the sidewalk (that’s where the street was!). I also trained my children to sit in a time out chair if they didn’t obey me , I trained them to sit quietly in church, in the pew, they were not allowed to run all over the church service. We ALL must train our children and I for one thought her method was loving and would result in a self-disciplined child. She doesn’t leave them there for hours, nor does she neglect them or punish them unduly for getting off the blanket…she simply trains them that when she says they are to sit on the blanket they must sit there…. no different than parents putting their children to bed and expecting them to remain there!
Have you ever had a child that would not stop screaming to the top of their lungs while inside the house? My daughter, who is 19 months old, loves to scream in her ear piercingly high pitched voice. She does this just because she like the sound of her own voice, and the more you get onto her the more she does it. How would you suggest I teach her to sit still and be quiet?
Honestly, as an attachment parent, I am completely horrified at this type of treatment to a child. In my opinion, this is borderline abuse, not to mention that it completely goes against the developmental needs of a child any age, let alone a toddler. You SWAT a child for following his/her natural inclination to explore and learn???? If you want 30 minutes to yourself, hire a nanny or don’t have kids. Parents don’t train children like dogs. You educate them; you help them safely explore their world. I think this is, at the very least, an example of very misguided parenting, at the worse and in the hands of some really ignorant people, child abuse and neglect. If you want to train something, get a puppy.
She SPECIFICALLY said she did NOT swat them!!! She said she had heard of parents doing that but this was not her method!
Hey Jill this is a way to teach your toddler how to “play safely” Oh and other people don’t like listening to screaming children all day long. I live with my in-laws and I am going to teach my child this because I am sick of everyone else in my house yelling at my child. I don’t yell at her I talk to her in a calm voice. SHe knows she did something wrong. So teaching her to sit and be quiet while dinner is being cooked or while eating at the table doesn’t sound like child abuse to me. Our parents taught us the same things except they more than likely spanked us for misbehaving. My 19 month old like to yell to the top of her lungs and it just gets everyone else in the house yelling too. Also this would be a great thing to teach her so that way when her little brother is sleeping she doesn’t start yelling and waking him up. I sometimes wonder if people like you (those who have to comment negatively on any child teaching blogs) even have children of your own.
I think blanket training is a great idea! As the post states, you work up to 30-60 minutes. It’s not an all day thing, stop over-reacting people. As parents, we are to teach, educate, and train our children in behavior we feel is appropriate. There is nothing wrong with teaching discipline at a young age, not abuse, discipline. This is perfect for having your children reverent during a church service. I look forward to trying this with my kids. Thank you for your post!
Thank you for sharing! I have just started blanket training only yesterday and I already see improvement today. I’m saddened that there are moms claiming this is neglect or abuse, it’s not at all. My toddler got excited today when I told him it was blanket time, he had a sense of accomplishment at the end of the time both yesterday and today. We celebrated at the end because he behaved so well and was a great listener and enjoyed playing with his toys on the blanket. I think this is especially good to teach children self restraint, we can’t always be running around and yelling because it’s fun to do, sometimes we need to sit quietly and listen or just sit quietly and meditate, I don’t see how this is a bad thing to teach our children. And let me remind you that the word train is synonymous with teach.
This is a joke right?
By not letting him or her crawl you are a) treating her like a dog. B) how is she supposed to take in her environment? Learn, explore, touch, feel, feed her curiosity? You are in the dark ages!!!!!
Have you even heard of the mountains of research that tells us that this time in a child’s life is CRUCIAL because it is when they learn the most. Babies are human beings not your pets. You can give them all the books or educational toys you want!! Do you honestly believe that this replaces exploration? You are denying them the opportunity to discover, problem solve, develop independence and CONFIDENCE!!!!!
This is NOT how you discipline children. When you raise a child you MODEL for them how to behave how to follow rules and guess what?? They will create their OWN boundaries bc that is part of growing into your OWN PERSON–not the trained seal your producing. Your sin is not respecting your children as individuals and preventing them from blossoming into beautiful human beings with personalities and emotions and the ability to function as healthy happy and selfless people.
It just baffles my mind that parents can put on such blinders to this day in age.
You shouldn’t need to treat your little person like a dog in order to learn family dynamics and skills in the real world. Your teaching them to obey not to respect. They obey out of fear. They show respect because they were taught to value the role of others in their lives. They understand WHY respect is important. Insert Jesus plain and simple: treat others as you wish to be treated. And if you think for one minute that little children are incapable of learning this, and are only able to obey, then shame on you as their parent.
I pray that these children escape as soon as they can–to go out into the world and become PEOPLE who LIVE OUT Christ’s teachings instead of sitting statuesque In a pew having no real connection to who Christ was or WHY they are there. They are not being included in their faith, they are being forced to have no
Voice of their own, to know their place and to grow up not to have a life of their own but to raise their siblings as their only purpose in life.
Sad.
Many of you are very concerned with the thought that creating boundaries inhibits the growth of our children, that they should be allowed to explore and do what they want, when they want to, and how they want, as long as it is deemed “safe”. Your thinking is quite backwards, in my opinion. As an adult, you can not have your way all the time. My children are not allowed to do everything that they want, even if it will not cause any harm. Why? Because I am the adult and I guide our day, not the other way around. My brother is a great case in point for one that was allowed to be who he wanted, explore, and serve his own purposes. Sure, it seemed harmless as a baby, a bit irritating as a toddler, uncontrollable as a teenager, and now at 30 years old he has been in and out of prison, overdosed countless times, and I have no idea where he is. Boundaries are good, people. And by the way, you DO have to teach obedience. God desires it from us, and we desire it from our children. Lord help us in this society that throws a fit over people training their child to occupy themselves on a blanket. Put away your childish ways and use some wisdom, folks! Do not follow the world and be a fool.
The only person that understands the role and outcome of parenting is Wilma. Pity the children of everyone else who perpetrates this ideology. Our future generation of children/adults. No wonder we have mass killings in our schools from misguided youth whose mothers didn’t know how to care of their young!
So I assume that according to Wilma, that the right way of parenting is to let them explore even if it kills the child and cause injuries….instead of setting boundaries and keeping them safe from unnecessary harm.
You watch your kid!!! If you can’t put them in the crib or swing for a bit. You should not have harmful things in your house anyway. BABYPROOF YOUR HOUSE!!!
Any suggestions for blanket training twins? My b/g twins are 22 months old. I’m not sure how to approach this- at the same time on two different blankets or at two different times?!?! Any advice is appreciated!!
So treat your child like a dog or cattle? And punish them for trying to move off a blanket which is just natural as in God intended. This is for lazy parents who don’t want to watch their kids. Infants are curious and it is fine to let them :off the blanket to explore a bit. If you really can’t watch the kid for a bit, put them in the crib while you do laundry etc… You are a sick person who needs help.
I really wish I would have know about this when my youngest was younger he runs around the house and I have to chase him he is only two can I still start this with him or do you think its to late?
Blanket training is a form of corporal punishment. When the child leaves the blanket, the care giver inflicts some type of pain on the child. The only reason they are trained is because they know they will feel pain if they leave the blanket. I have four kids and they play and stay in place without inflicting punishment. Be a parent and engage with your kids that’s all you need to do.