Over the past few years I have tried different ways to motivate my kids to do my will without force. It can be a dangerous battle going toe to toe with a preschooler. They play dirty, and like it. But since Matt and I try to be kind and loving parents, sometimes a little bribery is just what is needed to accomplish our objectives. I thought I would share some of our tactics that seem to work with our kids. Who knows, maybe you can use them too.
Rainbow challenge night
This is a way that we have devised to get our kids to eat more veggies. I place all of the colors of the rainbow on their plate. When the plate is cleared, they get to have the final color: brown, which is usually a brownie or piece of chocolate. Here was last nights challange:
Red: cherry tomatoes, Orange: clementines, Yellow: summer squash, Green: english peas and cucumbers, Blue: blueberries, Purple: beets. We make a big deal when the kids complete their challange, giving high fives and other kudos.
Miller store
This idea came from two of my friends, Ginny Carson and Laurie Burlington. Every night before bed the kids look at their calendars. We talk about what we did today and what we will be doing tomorrow. If they made it through the day without getting a time out, they get a smiley face sticker on that day. On rare occasions I give a bonus smiley face for exceptional behavior. On the last day of the month is Miller Store. They get a token for every smiley face they had during the month. Miller store consists of various toys, games, candy, and seasonal items that they might like to have. Each item is given a numerical value and the kids have to use their tokens to buy them. Various price points are represented and high valued items may take more than one month to purchase. Here are some examples of June Miller store items: toy story bubble bath, a singing toothbrush, puzzles, glitter glue, swim goggles, sparklers, activity books, and fourth of july pajamas.
