Payment in pebbles…
It worked when they were little,
Will it help us blend?
A few friends might remember when I used a glass pebbles job chart to become contributing citizens of our little family of three. Honestly, it worked pretty well. They got to the point where they didn’t need rewards to get their stuff done, nor did they need penalties to keep from acting up. Oddly, they even stopped wanting so much stuff, and became content with what they had. So we stopped with the pebbles and lived happily ever after.
And then I got married. Which is awesome! Never saw that coming. Once we made that decision, though, we did see some inevitable issues. I still had no idea how rough it would be to blend six kids from two different homes.
Actually, they do alright together. I, however, am not dealing well with all the mess, the whining, the arguments over hygiene and meals, the fighting over computer-time, the hollering, the wasting, the gimmie-gimmies,
and the if-He-doesn’t-help-I shouldn’t-have-to-eithers. It’s bedlam. BEDLAM.
This may or may not have something to do with the ulcer, right?
I love, love, LOVE the Positive Discipline method, which advocates neither punishment nor rewards, but focuses instead on problem solving and individual accountability. I’ve been trying, too, and I don’t think I’m getting through to them just yet. So I brought these issues up with the kids, and they immediately suggested we try Pebbles again. They love it.
So I’m giving our old version an update (taking *eight people* out to eat for 20 pebbles? Yeah right!) and then giving it another go. We’ve agreed to start this next Monday. I’ll report our findings. 🙂
Legend of Velda 