This one's for you jillybean;
I've said it before and i will say it again....
I am a fan of bribery....
Sometimes if done well...
It can help initiate and then encourage major change after the
bribing ends.
the kids have been cooped up in the hotel for over
a month without anywhere to escape from eachother
for some space or along time....
Thus fighting and bickering has become
the form of communication around here.
Matt and i simutaneously came up with the ....
Poinsts for Prizes Game
_________________
we give points for getting caught speaking kind
or helping one another, sharing , showing patience...etc...
Not every act of kindness recieves a point!
We are always suppose to show love to others....
So points are given randomly as a visual thankyou.
Points can be taken away for yelling, disobeying,
unkind words...etc
and likewise earned back by making a change.
There is such thing as "going in the hole" or negative amount of
points.
each time a point is recorded it is announced and accompanied by praises from mom or dad.
5 points by bedtime = picking a quarter or a small
Prize from a quarter machine!
If they don't have the 5 points at bedtime
we really encourage them to try so hard the next day
and tell them that we know they can do it!
The visual praise will not go on for long ...
it is expected of them to recognize that our
home is a happier place and they have peace in their hearts
when they are choosing the Right!
And then the game ends and the praises for
positive behavior continue without the visual "prize".
After 3 days of doing this ....
we have seen a 180 in their attitudes towards one another.
Next week 20 points, by weeks end , will mean that they
are invited on a fun outing with the family!
Call me naughty, call me lazy,
but bribery done right , in my opinion, takes a lot of consistency,
follow through, and energy and by no means is for lazy people!
After 3 days of doing this ....
we have seen a 180 in their attitudes towards one another.
Next week 20 points, by weeks end , will mean that they
are invited on a fun outing with the family!
Call me naughty, call me lazy,
but bribery done right , in my opinion, takes a lot of consistency,
follow through, and energy and by no means is for lazy people!
Bribery is totally the best! My kids are working hard on their 75.00 goal and we are all the better for it! Too bad we don't have a quarter machine in our house. One more reason that living in a hotel is better than living in a house, eh?
ReplyDeleteWELL DONE!!! What an impressive way to handle a difficult situation. Kudos to you and the hubby. : )
ReplyDeleteM.L.
We used to have a points system for off-track days. It seems that the kids fight more when there is nothing to do. They did really well with it, but it stopped working (like everything else once they figured out the loop holes)
ReplyDeleteLast off-track we came up with a very loose schedule that is based on a school schedule, and it was AWESOME. My kids still fight now and then, but NOTHING like they used to....and I've seen 60 something year old siblings fighting so I know sibling rilvary isn't something you can cure overnight.
Anyway...point is....I love bribery.
Okay...your story CRACKED ME UP too! What an entertainer! : )
ReplyDeleteM.L.
I agree!! BRIBERY ROCKS!!!!
ReplyDelete