I introduced it yesterday morning. I presented each of the whiners with a cup to decorate which had his/her name on it. This would seem like a simple, yet exciting moment when they realize there is potential to be rewarded for good behavior. This is how it played out:
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| I told my buddy what we were going to do with lots of enthusiasm and he started whining that he did not like the idea AT ALL and threw himself down on the couch and began to cry. |
Then I explained it to The Bear who seemed to be on board. The oldest of the whiners (buddy) finally came around and decorated his cup along with The Bear.
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| Can you tell I just cleaned the kitchen? No, seriously that is clean. |
While all of this was going on, The Zaz was upstairs cleaning which means she was just piling things on surfaces like shelves and into bins. Helpful in some ways but not so helpful in others especially when you are dealing with dirty and clean clothes. Anyway, she came down, saw the cups and I explained the process to her. When we got back upstairs, I complemented her on her hard work and told her she would be getting cotton balls for being such a good helper. It went like this:
Me: You did such a great job helping up here! I am so proud of you. I am going to put some cotton balls in the cup!
The Zaz: And then I get to eat them?
Before I could respond to this question, The Bear said she wanted cotton balls so I told her she could have some if she helped and gave her some options of things to do to help.
None of them seemed to interest her because she started whining that she wanted cotton balls immediately which eventually turned to demanding screams.
We are off to a great start over here!
hee hee. Thank you. I applaud your efforts. You're a good momma. We have star chart and at the end of each day we have "Momm's Lil Star Chart meeting," I pretend to do a bugle noise or something like that and then, "call to order the star chart meeting." I ask them if they think they were more nice or naughty today and do they deserve a star. They have started to yell triumphantly, "naughty!" awesome.
ReplyDeleteOh Molly! That is great! We had a star chart and it lasted 3 days at best because I kept forgetting about it. That is my problem...lack of memory and focus! HA!
ReplyDeleteAndie
You know what? Sometimes I think these reward systems are great and then sometimes I feel very old school and think, you know what? this is dumb. They should be obedient, because, THEY SHOULD BE OBEDIENT. But ask me 3 different times a day and I will go back and forth on my answer. Right now, I think they should just do what they are told. period. :)
ReplyDeleteI hear you but can't seem to reach that point with my kids. Oh well it just makes things a bit more exciting I suppose.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea...can't wait to hear how it goes! :) I too need something to stop the whining. I've resorted to, "If you're fussing and crying, you must be tired, so it's time for _____ (insert nap/bed here)."
ReplyDelete