Ethan has taken a new interest in video games. And not the learning video games. Gasp. I thought I could put this day off forever. Well, in an effort to avoid mindless hours in front of video games, we have decided that he must earn his video game time. He has three assignments to do a day, read a book, write a little about it, and complete a math problem with me. For each activity, he earns a sticker. For every five stickers, he earns an hour of video game time. Fair enough, right? I actually think it's a little strict, but hey- if he agreed to it, whatever! Might as well take advantage of it before he can outsmart me!
Before we put this little system in place, I had noticed that Garrett was taking an extreme liking to stickers. He wanted stickers all the time. I actually had a lot of stickers on hand for Ethan's deal because I had stocked up for Garrett. So when Garrett noticed that Ethan was earning stickers and that he started referring to them as "thrill points," Garrett decided that he wanted to earn stickers too. That child will do almost ANYTHING for a single sticker. The best part about it? That's all he wants is a sticker! We stick it to his shirt for a bit, then he transfers it to the folder and that's it. No further bribery necessary!
So now I have two very compliant little boys that love helping and learning all because of a little mommy bribery that they have turned into a contest to see who will earn the most "thrill points" this summer.
Only problem is this trick will wear off soon and the next trick I pull from my bag will have to be more complex and a little smarter on my part, of course. Enjoying it while it lasts...
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