You know, this exciting parental road gets a little weary at times. It's full of adventures. There are personality jilts lurking at every turn. One moment I have the sweetest and most fun children in the world. The next moment they jilt me with a "What in the world were you thinking!??!" reaction. This week has been a tough one. I had one cutting her hair, one A-student 3rd grade drop out wanting to new parents because we didn't buy him the $90 Lego Star Wars toy he wanted, and one that's so angry at doing her math work she wants to scream. Funny thing is she has nothing lower than an A in math. It is all resolved and has left me feeling exhausted.
We do have great kids though. All is resolved. My son is happy at home minus the high priced Lego's. One daughter is still sporting her messed up do, and the other is calmly doing her math again. Isn't it amazing how our desire for leisure can drive us to think irrationally and make the wrong decisions in life? Now being fair, they are growing children lacking their frontal lobes of their brain development from which the ability to reason comes from, but we as adults with fully developed frontal lobes can make some silly decisions based on leisure and the desire for "fun!"
Why does this desire for leisure have such a strong influence on many, while the pride in working drives others? There is nothing like feeling accomplished. I like the feeling of a job well done. I hope to influence this sort of drive in my children. The road of desiring leisure isn't fun. They are just children and I don't expect results of an adult, but I'm not going to discount the importance of teaching them the reward in accomplishing a job well done now. One thing we have put into action is not giving money for chores around the house. We consider that things they should do. No one gives me money to do laundry! Instead of giving them money for chores or doing their fair share around the house, we give them an allowance on a grading scale for quizzes and tests.
A= $ 2.00
B= $ 1.00
C= $ 0.00
D= $-1.00
F= $-2.00
Yes, we subtract if they get D's and F's. That has motivated them not to be careless with their school work. If they want something, they need to stay up on their school work. My son is now working for that $90 toy by making keeping his grades up. We always have to remind them of this grading scale though. They tend to want us to just buy things for them. We do sometimes but things like this $90 toy is something he needs to work for. The good thing is his lowest grade this year so far has been an 88. If they all make straight A's I might happily be broke!
A= $ 2.00
B= $ 1.00
C= $ 0.00
D= $-1.00
F= $-2.00
Yes, we subtract if they get D's and F's. That has motivated them not to be careless with their school work. If they want something, they need to stay up on their school work. My son is now working for that $90 toy by making keeping his grades up. We always have to remind them of this grading scale though. They tend to want us to just buy things for them. We do sometimes but things like this $90 toy is something he needs to work for. The good thing is his lowest grade this year so far has been an 88. If they all make straight A's I might happily be broke!
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