I've noticed we have been using a lot of bribery with Camryn lately. I am not sure if this is an approved parenting technique, but at the moment, it is working for us. The biggest thing we are bribing Camryn with right now is a big girl bed. I know, I know, I thought we would have her in a big girl bed by now, too, but there are a lot of things I thought she would be doing by this point - done with potty training, preparing her own meals, helping with major chores, reading on a 12th grade level, contributing to the household income ... but, I digress.
So, anyway, Camryn is a master staller at bedtime. Once she's in bed, she's constantly calling to us for something. She needs to potty, she needs to blow her nose, she needs chapstick, she needs help with her covers, some noise scared her, she doesn't like noise in her room, she wants the nightlight on, she doesn't want the nightlight on, she wants to know where she's going when she wakes up, she sneezed and we didn't say, "Bless you." The list goes on and on. To end some of this stalling, we have started to bribe her with the promise of a big girl bed (truthfully, though, she's getting it no matter how she acts). We've told her she will not be allowed to have a big girl bed in the new house if she can't show us she can be a big girl at bedtime (a boldface lie) and go right to sleep. We've talked about all the wonderful benefits of a big girl bed, and she is sold. She cries now when we remind her she is behaving in a way that will cause her to lose the big girl bed, so we're having to be careful how much we throw that one around.
Then, there's the ever popular dessert bribery. She asks for dessert, we tell her she has to eat the other 3/4 of her dinner that is sitting on the plate before she can have it. It's simple, gets the job done. And, of course, at this time of year, we're playing the Santa card. I have found myself, more than once, letting this one fly:
"RememberSantaonlycomestoseegoodboysandgirlsandyouarenotactinglikeagoodgirlrightnowandifyouwantSantatobringyouthedrumsyou'vebeenaskingfor(Heaven, help us!)thenyoubettershowmeyoucanbegoodbecauseSantais
watching!"
So, how are you currently bribing your kids?
4 years ago
2 comments:
Santa is what we have been doing lately...And an earlier bed time....Lani hates going to bed and this usually stops our problem right away!!!
The bribes get bigger the older the kids get. I actually bribed Anna this past weekend, by offering her our house when she's married someday...just so she'd consider living in Lancaster. Art doesn't even know I did that! She wasn't persuaded by the obvious bribe either. Which is another thing that happens when the kids grow older...they grow wiser too. Well, you can't blame me for trying.
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