With the new school year, the need for discipline has been great. It's been a rather rude awakening for the boys - instead of the lazy days of summer playing video games and going on campouts we are back to school and football practices are in full swing. So things need to get done, and they need to get done now because there's no time later, baby!
In my last blog I talked about how we used the ticket shop to use home SMART behavior. It worked well before, but to be honest I've been struggling with the reward system as of late. It wasn't received all that enthusiastically this time and I can't quite figure out why. I think it's partially because the young dudes just haven't been interested in doing chores or taking care of things. They are on overload. I've tried various charts, some specifically outlining duties but they fizzled quickly. We tried something really fun - the Daddy Dollar. It's an idea I read about in Family Fun Magazine (I love that magazine!!) and it looked like a great one. You just go to a website, upload a picture of Dad (or anyone really) and make a dollar bill with Dad on the front. Print and cut and you're in business! I would pay them a Daddy dollar for each chore accomplished and they could spend it at the Mom Shop. Well, the whole thing is faltering a bit.
My one guess is something I learned while voluntering for the PBS team at school - if it's too complicated, the teachers will eventually pitter out with it if they even try it at all. It's tough to stop everything and find all the envelopes, take out the dollars, find the right kid's envelope, put it in and then repeat that several times a day. With the ticket shop, I printed mulitple tickets, wrote their name on the blank and put it all in one baggie. Maybe that's why it worked so well - because it was quick and accessible. I've also tried putting talley marks on a printed chart with their names on the fridge. Super easy!
At this point I think I'll combine the two. I'll put a chart on the fridge, add tally marks when good things are accomplished, and have a grand payday before Mom Shop opens. Who doesn't love payday, right? The bottom line is that the boys have got to learn to be responsible for their stuff. A crappy, junked up house does not a celestial home make. (I think Yoda first said that . . . )Anyway I better find a system fast because if I trip over one more train track or find one more dirty sock in my house plants, I'm gonna lose it!
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