I've spent the majority of the winter reading many books about special needs kids, their therapies, their siblings, their parents & their relationships. Ir was alot of reading. Thankfully, I had Mighty Leaf Tea to drink while reading compliments of Ellen's blog contest Thanks Ellen!
I am NOT a schedule person. I like to be free to do what needs to get done when it needs to get done as well as be free to do as I please with my day. I joke to my friends that I am a type B+ personality :) However, full day school will be here in 1 year and I have a HUGE side project I would like to begin when full day school begins so to prepare for the inevidable, I have decided to begin some sort of "scheduled routine". I am tackling it one persaon at a time, begining with Capt. Chaos since he is my most willing and ever present victim, lol.
Capt. Chaos in his favorite hiding spot in the playground
We always have had house rules in our family, none were written down & most were simply commonly understood. I have tried chore charts in the past but failed to keep up with them & I dreaded sticker time- it could take easily 45 minutes to pick out just. the. right. sticker. Also, to be honest, he's a pretty good kid. 8 times out of 10 he does what he's told. We really only have trouble with him when we go out to eat- or go out anywere :P. Currently, we eat at Braum's, Taco Casa & Sonic. I know, Sonic should'nt count- its a drive-in.
So with that said, I sat down & made up some Family Rules, posted them in a prominent place & we read them every day. Really, we read them every day. Capt. Chaos asks me to "read those words to me" everyday:) He melts my heart!
Its the standard family rules fare, ask permission, listen to mommy & daddy, eat at a table & wear clothing. Yes, I had to have that in a rule since his favorite outfir at the moment is his birthday suit:)
And since I have failed at the chore chart, I have discovered the Good Bean Jar, compliments of another home keeping type blog. Basicly, he starts the week with "x" amount beans. Beans are added for good jobs or for good acts. I want to catch him being good in a sense. Beans can be taken away for disobediences, poor behavior or choices. When he reaches "x" amount of beans he gets a special surprise- a trip to the zoo, mueseum, something that still needs to be determined. I liked this idea because by adding more beans it can then "grow" with him. I plan on starting sometime over the weekend. I still need to decide on the amount of beans.
So, how do you all deal with your toddlers? Does bribery get you everywhere? How about time outs or taking away privledges? Hubby & I have kinda hit a wall on this one & this is our plan to help keep him growing up in a good citizen fashion. I'm curious to hear how other parents do it.
2 comments:
Hey Carla, those are some fantastic ideas! I love em! We don't have a set policy of rules but Faith is still pretty basic. She usually stops what she is doing with a good stern voice from mom (and sometimes a good stern look, too)LOL!
I like your system; seems right for his age. You can trial the negative consequences like time out (difficult for an active kid) and privileges (usually have to be upgraded frequently) when you are established with this new system.
Congrats on working at the edge of your own comfort zone. You might look forward to a few hours of that 'free' mindset when both boys are in school in the future, eh? Barbara
Post a Comment