Emma has always responded positively to the use of "charts" yet I rarely use them. What is the matter with me? Whether it was potty training, sharing, cleaning up or what have you - when I tracked her good behavior with charts - she was GOOD.
The past few weeks have been a bit rough around the penthouse. You have probably noticed I have been blogging about sunshine Ben more than anything else - mostly because Em has stressed me out and I don't feel like talking about it. The lying! The bullying! The sass! The blatant disrespect! I know, I know - you have all hung out with her and you don't believe me...
Well at the beginning of this week I was absolutely fed up ready to purchase handcuffs so I could lock her to her bed when I had an epiphany. CHARTS! Duh - mama!
I immediately drew a LIE chart out. Every time she told a lie she got a check. After three checks she was to lose her favorite toy for a week. Daddy jumped in and suggested we reinforce the positive and call it a TRUTH chart - for every day she did not tell a lie, she got a star. (Daddys are so smart sometimes...)
I then drew up a KINDNESS chart. Kindness including everything from random acts of kindness to good behavior to eating dinner / drinking milk without a fuss or sass.
Guess what?
This kid has been on her best behavior all week and we have gotten along better than we have in a long time. We snuggle on the couch reading books, we dance, we sing songs... The penthouse has been an absolute joy to hang out in all week.
So faithful readers, do me a favor, will ya? Whenever you read my complaints about behavior issues with Em in the future, remind me to reread this post and bust out my sharpies and a clean piece of paper!!
(Ben could care less about charts... go figure.)
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