I hope I am not the means to their millions

We have decided there needs to be some changes in our family. We want to do something like this (though more geared toward our family) and have a family home evening where we can make some goals as a family. In the meantime we have started to make one major change, that of yelling less and expressing love more.

Yelling was pretty common for me growing up. I was a back talker too. Shame on me. I was always on the defense and therefore ready for a quick response, and usually a loud one. Then I went to college and I remember only yelling once at one roommate(maybe my memory fails me?).

And then I got married to a quiet, peaceful man that made me trust in his love and showed me that when we argued he would not yell at me but speak kindly--even in an argument! Amazing. You mean there are other ways to solve problems?!. I felt he earnestly cared about me and would not intentionally hurt my feelings. So I found that there was another side of my personality that made me much happier. It became very easy for me to not yell.

And then another change occurred. I had children. Children are not rational! Part of my old personality has come back and I have started yelling again. I don't like it and neither do my children.

So, we are making some changes. I have decided that my children get in trouble for back talking or yelling and therefore, I should be penalized as well. Every time I catch myself yelling I owe the boys some of my own personal money. It is the second day and they have already earned 50 bucks, I mean cents. Not bad. I'll let you guess how many times I yelled for them to earn that money. Twice? Five times? Fifty?

I hope this is a good start and reminder to me that my boys deserve a better mom who can respond more kindly and patiently.

Comments

Lokodi said…
That's a great idea and I think I'll try that too, but I can't give them money. They will only eat it. :)

Lindsey
Linds,

I am not giving it directly to them. I have a big jar that we put extra change in for them. They also have a piggy bank but that is for when they earn money. Anyway, I am just keeping tack of it and then I will decide if I want to put it in their jar or if end up owing them too much I'll set up an account. ;)
The Woods said…
What if you have an entrepreneur on your hands that realizes this is a great money making opportunity? No, your boys wouldn't push your buttons for a penny, no a nickel...
definitely a quarter, (wait this is Adrianne we're talking about here)
... final answer: fifty cent piece.

Good luck with your family goals. It sounds like a great one.
The Duke said…
How about paying the mom for every time the kids make them scream? I would definitely be a millionaire by this time! :)
Hope you have better luck than I did.
Michelle said…
Great idea, best of luck with continuing it for a long time. If you are anything like me, I start things with great intentions and go for about 3-4 weeks then I forget or do something new for a while. It's kind of like weight loss and diets. Someone can do really well with them for a period of time, then their either forget about them, or they realize they really like food again and eat other things that aren't on their "Diet". With children, what I've learned is try new things all the time and hopefully someday you'll figure out the parenting, obviously from my post this morning I haven't figured out how to make teens stop fighting so I must be a horrible parent.

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