wow

[Lothlorien]

Who knows how long this is going to last, but I laid out schedules for each kid and what was expected of them each day, plus made them each sign a contract. No charts....charts are bad in my house. They cause more anxiety.

Missy hates going to the aftercare program, so her deal is that if she follows the schedule and contract, she can stop going after February is up.

Mighty Mouse's deal is if he does all that he will get a night out with mom and dad (no Missy) for ice cream and slot cars.

Mighty made Missy breakfast yesterday and since she was kind of miserable, he brought it into her in the living room.(eyes bulging) I normally wouldn't have let her have it in the living room, but it was such a nice gesture, I just let it go. He made her breakfast this morning too.

Mighty just carried her backpack to the bus stop too.

Missy, tho not going out of her way to do nice things like that, is saying thank you and please and really being a little more patient with him. Getting up on time and I'm not screaming at her to brush her hair, finish her lunch or waiting for the bus to come back around because she missed the bus yet again.

It's only been a few days, but wow - this is much more pleasurable.

 

[AnnieO]

Ummm... Loth? Can I come visit for a week? That sounds like HEAVEN!

 

[Lothlorien]

I swear, yesterday morning was like a completely different set of kids left my house. I couldn't believe it. I told husband that I should have done this ages ago! If I can only keep up with this now. I figure if we do this for several months, it will retrain their little minds and then it might just come naturally..........Wouldn't that be nice? I know, I have big dreams!

 

[gcvmom]

Wow, that's incredible! Make sure you publicly praise them for what you're seeing and let them know how good it makes you feel! I think that can go a long way toward reinforcing these behaviors. Congrats -- I hope this continues for a very long time!

 

[Hound dog]

I used this method often with my kids. I found while it's not the perfect solution (is anything? ) it worked far better than charts or most things I tried. I set small goals that led into large goals. Mine had issues, especially Travis, keeping their eye on the prize if the goal was set too far away........so would set weekly or every 2 wk ones to help get him there.

Surprisingly a lot more of it stuck than I thought it would. Ok.........so a lot of helping each other vanished in the teen years to some degree........It resurfaced again once they passed that stage.

 

[SearchingForRainbows]

Keeping my fingers crossed this continues to work!!! Thanks for posting. I love hearing good news!!! SFR

 

[busywend]

Keeping fingers crossed, too! YOU should be in an extra good mood and tell them it is all because of the changes they have made. When they see just how happy they can make the household....that should at least be something you can remind them of if/when things start to slide downward.

 

[barneysmom]

Hope it continues to work and that they slip easily into a nice little routine. Even little routines can give the day such a good framework.

Jo

 

[trinityroyal]

Wow Loth, that sounds just grand! Glad to hear it's working, and long may it continue.
Trinity

 

[susiestar]

sounds awesome!! It is great when a plan works out this way. I hope it lasts.

 

[HaoZi]

Way To Go Loth, hope it continues!