Quick Tips for Busy Families by Jay Payleitner

Author:Jay Payleitner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Parenting;Family;Marriage Family & Relationships;REL012030
ISBN: 9781441230928
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2017-01-12T05:00:00+00:00

STRATEGY

73

Open-Door Policy

If you discover your child is breaking rules behind a closed bedroom door, then set a new rule: Without express permission, the bedroom door will remain open.

If that rule is broken, take the door off the hinges. Make it clear that it will not be re-hung until their attitude is corrected and your trust is restored.

STRATEGY

74

The Job Jar

One of the great advantages of modern technology is that parents finally have something to take away from their kids. When your grade schooler needs to be punished, you can say, “No screens for twenty-four hours,” and that’s a significant punishment. It’s also convenient and effective. Just be careful you don’t accidentally say, “No screens for a month” or “No screens for a year.” Those are sanctions you won’t be able to keep.

Used with care, cutting off screen time can be an excellent deterrent for future bad behavior. But who says punishments always have to be negative consequences? What if, instead of taking away a privilege, parents could actually benefit from the situation with a little extra help around the house? Wouldn’t that be sweet? The problem is that when it’s time to dole out a punishment, it’s difficult to think of tasks that need doing on the spur of the moment.

What you need is a Job Jar. The Job Jar is an empty mayonnaise or pickle jar that contains dozens of slips of paper with household tasks that occasionally need doing. Jobs like vacuum first floor, unload dishwasher, clean litter box, pooper scoop the backyard, empty all the wastebaskets, clean window wells, dust living room, clean garage, sweep porch, scrub toilets, fold towels, read a book to a younger sibling, clean refrigerator, polish silver, fill a box for Goodwill, scrub bathtubs, wash car, polish shoes, clean sliding glass door, clean fish tank, wash dog, mow lawn, rake leaves, shovel sidewalk, Swiffer kitchen, polish woodwork, weed whack, outdoor litter pickup, scrub lawn chairs, shake throw rugs, clean bathroom mirrors, scrub garbage can, scrub recycling bin, and anything else you can think of.

When a child needs some course correction, you can tell them to pull one, two, or three tickets from the jar. Depending on the crime and the kid, you have the right to fine-tune, reevaluate, or overrule any job jar assignment. Maybe the job is not age appropriate or does not need attention on this particular day. In that case, simply have the culprit pick another slip.

Finally, you may want to include a few slips that say, “Grace. 1 Peter 4:8.” If your young mischief-maker draws that slip, he or she is off the hook. Make it a teachable moment. Make sure to have the fortunate scoundrel look up that verse: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

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