One of my favorite things about living in Italy was the church bells that sounded throughout the day. I loved hearing them! I also found that the bells made it easy for me to get my kids out the door in the morning for school. The kids knew when they heard the bells that we needed to head out of our house. I never had to say anything. The bells did it for me. They also knew that they needed to be in bed when the bells rang at night, as well. They tried to be in bed before they started ringing and loved the big deal I made when they were in bed before they rang. I wish we had bells where I live now. If you feel like you are nagging your kids to do things or get out the door to go somewhere, set a timer, and then it is the timer that is telling them it is time to go and not you. It really saved me from being the bad guy all the time.
Sherene Van Dyke, Porcia, Italy