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Screaming Mad
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 176401" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>Andy's got a good suggestion - with a lot of our difficult children (and a lot of PCs!) they need the instructions very short and highly specific. And they also need to otherwise stay out of the way.</p><p></p><p>My mother used to lean on me A LOT and I would try to hide if I didn't want to be dragged in to helping. Sometimes it was interesting; always it was tedious. Peeling a mountain of freshly picked peaches so Mum could preserve them was interesting but also tedious and made me itch for days with peach fuzz inside my clothes.</p><p></p><p>I know I would have been more willing if the job she gave me had been much briefer and also had breaks built in. Often we would be working away on something for hours.</p><p></p><p>My reward for helping peel peaches, though - a fresh peach sandwich! My absolute favourite. You slice a peach onto buttered bread, sprinkle sugar on it, slap another slice of buttered bread on top and chow down. It only works if the sandwich is really freshly made otherwise juice makes the bread soggy.</p><p></p><p>So that's the other incentive - reward. If company's coming, YOU get your reward but it is too intangible for the kids. The sort of reward a kid would value - if you're baking something really special for the visitors and the kid gets a sample, fresh from the oven, a "preview" or "cook's privilege" taste. It can turn a difficult kid into a willing helper.</p><p></p><p>Humans are mercenary creatures. There is no such thing as altruism. For kids, much more so.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 176401, member: 1991"] Andy's got a good suggestion - with a lot of our difficult children (and a lot of PCs!) they need the instructions very short and highly specific. And they also need to otherwise stay out of the way. My mother used to lean on me A LOT and I would try to hide if I didn't want to be dragged in to helping. Sometimes it was interesting; always it was tedious. Peeling a mountain of freshly picked peaches so Mum could preserve them was interesting but also tedious and made me itch for days with peach fuzz inside my clothes. I know I would have been more willing if the job she gave me had been much briefer and also had breaks built in. Often we would be working away on something for hours. My reward for helping peel peaches, though - a fresh peach sandwich! My absolute favourite. You slice a peach onto buttered bread, sprinkle sugar on it, slap another slice of buttered bread on top and chow down. It only works if the sandwich is really freshly made otherwise juice makes the bread soggy. So that's the other incentive - reward. If company's coming, YOU get your reward but it is too intangible for the kids. The sort of reward a kid would value - if you're baking something really special for the visitors and the kid gets a sample, fresh from the oven, a "preview" or "cook's privilege" taste. It can turn a difficult kid into a willing helper. Humans are mercenary creatures. There is no such thing as altruism. For kids, much more so. Marg [/QUOTE]
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