I have been resistant to the idea of starting a reward system this summer to motivate my kids to help out and well, behave like normal people. I have gone the route of earning tickets, chore charts, intricate reward systems....in the past but I just don't have the motivation to follow through with anything this summer. Also, I feel that my oldest two are old enough to do what they are told without needing much more motivation and that their good behavior should just set the example for the younger ones. To be honest, our summer got off to a rough start. The first couple of weeks after school got out were filled with sibling rivalry, laziness, and lots of sassy talk. Thankfully, after our adjustment period of spending so much time together, we are doing better. Yet there are still daily moments of bickering and tattling that threaten my sanity. I keep wondering.....is this Hannah Montana's fault? Is it normal pre-teen angst that cannot be avoided? Can they be in the same room together for more than 5 minutes without annoying each other?
I do remember a period of several years that my brother, Josh, and I couldn't stand each other. Our parents even made us share a room for a month until we could learn to get along. I have already threatened that. I just don't know what it is about the two of them. It doesn't help that they are the same size and 2 1/2 years apart, or that they are extremely talented at annoying one another......I would even put them in the gifted level for that skill.
I had to laugh the other day when we were at Costco and I saw the sign that records how many days the store had gone without an accident. It gave me an idea. How many days could my kids go without fighting? One? Seven?
This lovely sign is now hanging on our refrigerator. Not that anything good will come of it......but I am curious to see if that zero will ever change.
Another sign I just put up on our door coming in from the garage is this:
We just had our carpets cleaned for the first time in several years. They look great for the moment but I am not sure how long that will last. Hopefully this sign will prevent my voice from being lost with all the "friendly reminders" I have to shout out to all members of this family.
Isn't summer grand??
7 comments:
Oh my gosh... hahaha that picture of eli was so unexpected! I think i am still laughing:] good luck with your kids!
Love the bum shot!!
Summer. Yeah. It is Grand!
Good luck on the whole minding, not fighting thing and if you figure it out let me know. I love the posters you made and the bum shot of Eli is classic!
I so feel the same way, and I do not even have a house to manage....Whats wrong with me?
I'm really glad it's not just my kids (David) that play outside in the nude. I guess it must run in the family! Summer really is grand.
Love the squishy tooshie. I'm pretty sure that 8 is the magic age when normally good kids turn, shall we say, not so good? Let me know when you find something that works.
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