neuroticgirl's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- card tricks I've had it. I feel all burnt out on being a mommy. I mean obviously I'm not going to up and quit or anything, but something has to be done. The kids don't listen, they fight all the time, the whining is eating away at the lobe of my brain that controls anger. This morning started with a fight, after them fighting all day yesterday and I lost it. I screamed so incredibly loud that the dog hid under the bed. I definitely do not want to be one of those mothers who is known for being very loud and very mean. I want them to respect me, yes, but I also want them to feel like they can confide in me without me blowing a gasket. So I went to my room and counted to about 5000 and then came out and made a silly little chart. Each child has a little placard with 3 pockets on it. Whenever they do something awful they get a black card in one of the pockets. Not for every little thing, but for the bigger things. Three black cards means that the perpetrator gets grounded for the rest of that day. Every morning they start fresh with no black cards. Yes, I have a LOT of time on my hands here. So far today this has worked fabulously. They both got a card, then Caleb got another card, then Ian got another card. So they both had 2 cards and they were both walking around being nice because they knew that one more meant the rest of the day in their room. So when they got in a little tiff and I told them it was time to take a nap they immediately went to the beds and layed down. The problem with this whole nap thing is that they end up getting out of bed about every 3 minutes which drives me crazy and gets me all worked up again. And they never actually take a nap since they're so busy keeping themselves awake by getting out of bed. The beauty of this whole card thing is this ... I explained to them that if they get out of bed they get another card and then they're grounded for the rest of the day. However, if they stay in the bed until I come get them, in one hour, I will remove one black card from their name. And guess what. They are both still in bed. Caleb is actually sleeping and Ian is resting peacefully. Does anyone else have to do cheesy little things like this to get their children to behave like they have some common sense? 2:04 p.m. - 7.20.01 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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