Actually this is more like Step 100 than Step 1. I just called it step 1 since it’s my first post after all. No point in making a no bones honest blog if I start by being dishonest. Which brings me to why I said set the foundation…
My son is now 5 months old and my daughter is 8. Yeah, biiiig age difference. My children love each other, and I love that about them! The way they smile at each other just lets me know how much trouble I’m in when they can actually conspire together.
So why set the foundation now? Because we pretty much tried every other approach to the chaos that is our children. So we decided it’s time to go back to basics. Today I made two lists. The first is a “Daily Duties” list. It outlines everything that is expected of A every day, from getting up to going to bed. I gave times in the morning since we have a time management problem then and gave a generic list for evenings since I can’t guarantee what time dinner makes it to the table. The second list is “House Rules” for whole family. When T is old enough, this will apply to him too. It is very general in order to encompass everyone.
At the bottom of the rules I wrote our consequences for 1st, 2nd, and then 3rd offense. It starts with losing TV and/or computer for one day. Then grounded for one day. Then grounded and loss of TV and/or computer. I also have rewards. I purchased four different items. They are a magazine, a shirt, high heel shoes (I hate them, she loves them), and a craft kit. After a week of good behavior she can choose her reward from those four. So we have a mix of positive and negative reinforcement, as well as an outline of exactly what is expected of her and everyone else. I’m hoping this will stop the tantrums and crying that seem to be escalating.
Oh, and I’m also implementing family game night where we order in a pizza and play the Wii or a board game. That way we spend some time doing something all together. I don’t have a specific day since the husband is military and we can never predict his schedule. And you can’t predict an infant’s schedule either.
So here’s the start of yet another new beginning. I have high hopes for this one. I mean, if Super Nanny suggests it, it has to be good right?
No comments:
Post a Comment