How to get your kids to leave their favorite objects at home

Jennifer is a smart, smart mom. Here's her secret for getting out the door relatively unburdened by her kids' "special" treasures:

As the mom of five kids age 11 and under, I have had a lot of experience dealing with little ones. It takes an enormous amount of time and energy to get my family up, dressed, and ready to leave in the morning, whether it is to school or somewhere else. Many times, I have been hustling my family out the door and the 3 year-old (or even one of the slightly older ones) insists on taking some toy or other random object that I would rather leave at home. Sometimes the thing is a lightning rod for potential conflict (like candy) or dangerous (like a stick) or bulky (like a scooter) or messy (like makeup). Here's what I do:

1. The first step is to admire the object. I will ask to see it, and praise how interesting, or fun or cool it is. ("Wow! What a great stick! It is so smooth, and you can do so many things with it!")

2. Then, I personalize the object. I assign it a name and an age. Most things are babies; this works particularly well with girls (I have four). ("Stickie is so nice, but he is tired now from all the playing.")

3. Next, I give the reason that the object has to stay home. ("Stickie needs to take a nap now so you can play with him later.")

4. Last, I involve the child in taking care of the object so it can "rest" while we are gone. ("Let's put a blankie on Stickie so he isn't cold. OK, tuck him in now and give him a kiss. Say bye.")

Voila! No more arguing, or temper tantrums around taking the forbidden item in the car.

We're mostly past this stage in my house, but I'm giggling because I can just imagine my kids jumping in and elaborating on the story, thereby delaying us even more. "Actually, Mom, Stickie isn't tired. He needs to go outside so he can breathe and see the other trees. No, really. Sticks die when left indoors for too long. Besides, he gets scared when he's alone..."