By jamisue
Mr. M, my 6 y.o. has had a really hard time with school this year. I’m not sure why, but he has had a hard time “conforming” to the school rules. As I’ve commented before, most of his troubles are just boy things, like playing super hero in the bathroom or down the halls, etc.
We have tried all sorts of sticks and carrots to get him on task, but none seem to work. We’ve tried taking privileges, he doesn’t care. We tried a point system and it worked for a few weeks, but it wasn’t consistent. He’d have an 8 point day followed by 2 point days. Then we tried to convert the points into cash (O.K. I’m cheap and it was only a penny a point). Again it worked, sort of, but we were never able to get 5 good days in a row. He’s been to the principal, he’s had to sit in other classes by himself, he’s even had a form of detention once.
Lately, he’s decided that when he’s done with school, school is done. So he asks his teacher if he can leave and when she says “no”, he finds an opportune time to bolt. Now he doesn’t really go anywhere except outside the room or to the school bus if it’s there waiting.
His teacher has tried every trick she knows as have we. I was so frustrated last week after parent-teacher conferences I didn’t know what to do. I sat down with Jr. Magoo and had a long heart to heart about behavior and consequences and how it was all his choice. This isn’t the first time, but I was so frustrated I actually cried while I was doing this.
The next Monday, he had a stellar day and his teacher was excited. I, however, was a sceptic since he’d had stellar days before and they were usually followed up with 3 really bad ones. So later that night I was talking to my DH who was trying to be positive, and Mr. M overheard me say to DH ” I’ll bet you a dollar he can’t be good two days in a row.” Mr. M pipes up “I’ll bet you a dollar Mom!” I agreed and we shook on the bet.
5 days later, I’m out $4.00 and he’s been good for 5 days in a row!
Now I know I’m going to Hell for this, but in my world, gambling is good
Console your conscience–I think this is reverse psychology more than gambling.
I have a 5yo who is a tough cookie but responds well to that, too: “Nathan, I want you to go over these flashcards but DO NOT learn the ones where the sum is more than 9.” heehee
Comment #1 by Julie M. SmithNovember 12th, 2006 at 8:07 pmI say go for it! I know of parents who match their kid’s report cards with money; for every A $5 for every B $3 … and so on. If it means that you have to pay your kid to go to school, at least he’s getting 2 educations, how to make a buck and the standard of adding those bucks together.
Comment #2 by NatalieNovember 13th, 2006 at 11:35 amSounds like your son is one of 2 things - either starting a gambling habit early in his life or just competitive. Let’s hope for the latter.
And on a side note, I’d do it too if it works!
So totally in there with you! I can’t think of a better use for $1~!
Comment #3 by Tracy MNovember 13th, 2006 at 11:41 amMakes sense to me! My mom was always telling me that school was my job but I was too young to understand what she meant. School was just what I did and it was hard to see how it would affect me later in life. It was hard to understand the idea that I would HAVE a later in life when I might care about things like the freazing point of salt water. So I think paying the kid to help him see a point and a reward to everything sooner than 15 years later (and too late) isn’t a bad idea at all.
Comment #4 by Proud Daughter of EveNovember 13th, 2006 at 1:53 pmI think you have to do what you have to do this year in school. I also think this could be a teacher problem as well. I’ve gone through a lot of teachers in my day, and we’ve had good ones and we’ve had stinkers. When my child had a good one, everything was great and the child worked hard at school. When the teacher was a stinker, the child was bored and all manner of mischievousness insued, and this was not my trouble making child. I don’t know what your teacher is like, but I would bet (hee hee) that it is somehow involved in the problem. Hang in there though! Before you know it, your baby is a senior, and it’s all over with. It was my child’s 18th birthday yesterday! We survived it!
Comment #5 by Susan PNovember 14th, 2006 at 10:15 am