Fuzzy jars

Awhile back, I felt the way we were disciplining the boys was too negative - lots of nagging, counting and time outs.  We still do those things, but I came up with a way to also highlight their good behavior: the fuzzy jar.  Each boy has a jar with his name on it and can earn a craft pom pom for being caught doing something good: completing a chore quickly, completely and without any back talk; helping a sibling; eating dinner without complaining; having good manners; doing a good job with homework, piano practice, etc.

Fuzzies can also be taken away for bad behavior during the week.  After dinner on Sundays, I give them one freebie, and they come in one at a time to trade what they've accumulated for candy. Gummy worms and Starburst cost one fuzzy, Smarties, fun size Milky Ways and 3 Musketeers cost two.  They get another bonus fuzzy to start them off for the next week (mostly so I have something to threaten taking away for the rest of Sunday/Monday).  I've warned them about teasing if one boy has more pom poms/candy than the other, and neither has been upset so far, even when 2nd Brother had nothing but the single bonus fuzzy to spend one week.

We were letting them trade a fuzzy for 30 minutes of video game time for several months before the candy system, but that got tricky.  Both wanted to continue playing when one had no fuzzies left, they would cash in most of their stash and spend half of a beautiful Saturday zombied out inside, they would just watch tons of TV if they had no fuzzies, etc. Now the rule is they have to ask before doing any screen time (TV, computer, video games of any kind), and they're realizing they need to get ready for the day, do chores, clean up, etc. to get a "yes" answer.  We also do a no screen day once per week to encourage them not to default to technology options.  It takes some real effort to keep them away; hopefully we can teach them some balance.

Trisssshh or treat

Hilarious typo from a local magazine. Come on down, and bring the family.