I am getting M ready for her new school year routine, which will include waking up about an hour earlier than she does now, and also going to bed an hour earlier. It will also mean no screen time after 7pm and no sugar after dinner (at 6pm). I moved her bedtime start to 7:30pm last time from 8:00pm to get us there, and my mom is supposed to keep her on that schedule tonight, as I get home at about 9pm.
Another big change we will be making is switching to a very low sugar (special occasions only) and preservative/dye-free diet. I am hoping that this will be helpful with impulsiveness and distractability, but I’m also hoping that I won’t have to do an exclusion diet (no dairy, or wheat, or gluten). That would really suck but we’ll go there if we have to.
New discipline style, new diet, new routine, new schedule, new therapist, and new holistic doctor (hopefully)… let’s get this show on the road! I’m willing to do anything it takes for my kid. If it turns out that she’s just a willful, stubborn, exceptionally two-ish two-year-old, we’ll just be that much healthier and happier!
Mother of All Things 
My four year old has been on. a. tear. lately, challenging every single element of her boundaries, so I’ve been kind of going thru some of these things with you, lol. But we just started a “real” preschool curriculum (we homeschool) for her, which is outside of the norm for us – everything was very play, mess around, read good books, do fun things for her older two siblings. But this child. She’s more intelligent than the other four of us combined. Idk if homeschool is going to do the trick for her?
But my point is that doing this curriculum (for the whopping week) has already made substantial and very positive impacts on every area of our lives. She was desperate for more challenges in her day to day life, clearly. Challenges that don’t involve sneaking into the garage and climbing up on top of the jeep. Without any of us realizing she’d done it…
We have also cut back majorly on sugar and for sure none after dinner too. Four has not been wonderful for us!
So I’m super hopeful and excited for you all that all the new routines and challenges are going to be awesome for you both! And fingers crossed that there won’t need to be any elimination diets!
Thank you! Glad starting preschool (home or not home) has been good for her.