How to Change Disappointments in Parenting to Positives
Do you watch your kids do the same unproductive things day after day, or make the same poor choices over and over until you think you will scream?
Do they half-complete or ignore chores? Do they procrastinate on assignments? Do they just squeak by every day, doing the bare minimum of what YOU think they should do?
Are you at a loss of how to change their behavior?
Whether you have littles or your kids are in their teens, they are making daily choices.
Whether they are seemingly innocent or annoyingly knowledgeable choices, they can be dealt with and directed in another direction.
But you are going to have to be involved.
Kids need to be led. They need coaching. But they need something else, too.
They need a reason to strive for better choices. They need incentives.
When my kids were growing up, my husband and I tried a lot of tricks and ideas to lead them in the direction we wanted them to go, and some worked for a period of time, or worked for a certain child, but we just were not getting great, consistent results. They would slip back into old behavior patterns.
I had had it.
Enter … a new idea:
All Done Day
We devised for each of our kids a daily plan, that:
Gave them a set of expectations for their day in the following areas:
Daily habits (Making bed, household chores, healthy components)
Character development ( expectations or challenges specific for that kid)
Life skills ( things they need to learn along the way to be successful in life)
Developmental/Educational (homework, music lessons, language study, sports, etc.)
Challenges ( Set daily expectations to meet a specific goal)
AND THEN….
We super-powered the plans with incentives that we had figured out would get their attention and would give them the desire to complete their daily plans in order to “get their prize.”
What began as an experiment became a way of life that brought RESULTS.
Our kids’ lack of follow through changed.
They were getting things done.
They were learning in the process.
They were reaping the fruits of their labor.
Everyone was happier and healthier and, well, better people!
If you are interested in learning more about our ALL DONE DAY PLAN, go read my book: All Done Day: How to Win at Everyday Parenting. You will learn how we did it and how you can do it too.
