A few weeks ago I was in my psychiatrist’s office talking about my need for order and routine in my life.
Her: Is it chaotic in your house?
Me: Uh… we’ve discussed my kids, right? So, yes.
Her: Is there visual chaos?
Me: I mean, sometimes you have to kick your way through the clean clothes in the girls’ room to get to the bathroom and occasionally I wash the dinner dishes from last night while I’m cooking dinner so we can use them again.
Her: Do the kids have chores?
Me: Yes.
Her: Do they do them?
Me: While wailing and gnashing their teeth, which really just makes you want to drink wine directly from the bottle, while hiding in your minivan. Allegedly.
She gave me a couple of sheets of paper containing a system devised by a previous client. A miraculous, glorious system to make my kids do stuff WITHOUT acting like (really big) idiots.
It’s simple. I bought a roll of raffle tickets at an office supply store and wrote the girls names on three different Mason jars.
Do good stuff. Earn tickets.
Act a fool. Lose tickets.
THEN, just like Chuck E Cheese, you get to cash those mugs in. I have, so very kindly, included a printable PDF of the Ticket System we use and I left blanks on the bottom for you to fill in or add rewards.
We’ve had our ups and downs with the Ticket System but overall, it’s still working. I think it helps that my kids are so close in age so they are competitive with each other AND keep each other highly accountable.
This has also provided a way for me to reward my hardest worker (Em) without necessarily punishing the other two for not working as hard. Normally if I give them a job, like picking up stuff in the yard– you’d find Emma focused with a trash bag on her arm, scuttling around the yard. Aubrey would be sloooooooooooowly taking teeny little baby steps from one inch of grass to another, bending over in slow motion, then looking puzzled and confused about what to do with the sock in her hand. Sadie will run out there like she’s gonna do stuff only to play dumb. It’s her greatest defense.
Me: Sadie, pick up trash.
Her: I don’t know how!
Me: Sadie, brush your teeth.
Her: I don’t know how!
AD NAUSEUM.
NOW, I give them a job and if Emma is the only one working, she gets their tickets, too. And when Emma gets cranked up and wants to earn extra tickets by vacuuming a room, Sadie and Aubrey start to get nervous because they know she’s getting ahead of them.
In addition, it’s a real adrenaline rush to say, “You are about to lose 10 tickets,” and see an instant attitude change.
Long live the woman who invented this system and gave it to my shrink.
I’m writing a series of blog posts for Wells Fargo about finances which is hilarious– because I hate, hate, HATE, talking about and dealing with money. So you should (pretty please) hop on over to my post about the time I had a panic attack under my accountants desk. Really.
I shall begin this effective immediately.
Kim Bongiorno at Let Me Start By Saying recently posted..81 Things Dads Do That Make Us Weak in the Knees
We used the ticket system for 3 yrs and it stopped working. I think a lot of classrooms use it, we got the idea from my sons 3rd grade teacher. They get sick of it after a while so be careful and have another method ready for when that happens. I have also seen it done with marbles or puff ball (warm fuzzies). Neat ideas if they work.
Making my kids do stuff is my very favorite thing! Not theirs, though. Maybe this will help!
Amy Flory – Funny Is Family recently posted..Crock Pot Thursday: Easy Crock Pot Applesauce
In a couple of years I am so busting this out on my little mamma.
Heck I may bust it our right now on my husband. Wonder if it would work….
Lana recently posted..Wordless Wednesday – Perdido Key, Alabama 2014
This could be life changing… I’ve contemplated creating a behavior chart but too much work and organization needed for that. Thanks for the printable. And, I’m looking forward to keeping up with your series about finances!
Angie Mizzell recently posted..Hello 40. I am here.
I make things fun for them. Also, I explain to them carefully why they need to do it.
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Woohoo! Thanks for the printable. It’s supah dupah cute and you’ve already got it all laid out. I would never do that. Ah…now I see why my kids are so lazy. I hope it’s still working for you. I’m doing to drop this on my mine and see how it works…Thanks for sharing!