Accountable Kids Part 2

So, now that we have been doing this for awhile it seems to be a pretty good system. I think, as with ANY system, the key is being consistent with it. This has taken a lot of discipline on MY part for myself. But, it has made things better.

Some things I have seen come from this:

*Oddly, there is much less television watching. It has been good. It may be because they aren't earning enough tickets, but whatever it is, their time in front of the TV (and computer) is limited.
*I hardly ever have to ask my oldest to get all of his stuff done in the morning. He is on top of it!
*Unfortunately, I forget to give them a ticket at times because I am busy with feeding the baby or something, so i get confused on if I have or haven't given the right amount of tickets.
*I wish they had a board for me.... i need to make my own tickets that say: Give out tickets.
*The kids are brushing their teeth daily!!!
*I like that I can add more things as they get in habits of doing their normal stuff.
*It has been a spring board to helping get more incentives going. Such as: We are thinking of getting a Wii (well, it is ordered and on its way) but we want the kids to "earn" the money to buy it. So, all the extra chores they actually earn money towards a Wii, or time towards playing on the Wii. And Weston has to practice his piano (each song three times), but after that, any extra time is earned towards playing the Wii (So, if he practices an extra 15 minutes, he can play on the Wii for 15 minutes). This has been great incentive!
*Our two year old doesn't quite get it yet, but it is getting better. If he sits on the toilet, he gets a ticket! Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. (I made my own "Potty" reminder card--they really need to make one of those!)
*Two problems I have encountered: I like taking the tickets as discipline, but I have problems if they have no tickets to take! I can't figure out a good replacement for that.
and, I need Weston to do homework, but somedays he just decides not to do it... And so he doesn't get a ticket... But, I don't think that can be an option. He must do homework. How can I make that a MUST do? With Piano (and going to soccer), I just say, if you don't do it, then you owe me money cause it is costing me to put them in that... Is that bad?
*I really like that they earn stars towards a special date. That has been a great incentive. And it is nice to have a good reason to have one-on-one time with each kid.
*The family forum is easy because we get together every Monday night anyway for Family Home Evening, so we just make it part of our FHE. The first Monday of every month we do our family finances, fathers interviews, and look at our yearly goals, so we have just included in this a more detailed Family Forum where we go over tthe system in more detail. This is good cause it really keeps the boys involved as part of this entire thing.

*The kids are trying hard to earn Best Behavior cards. Unfortunately Aidan still tries “asking” for the card, and he needs to learn to just be caught being good.

*Bonus Bucks are what we use to have them earn extra Wii money/time, etc.

Here is Aidan with his sticker card for a special date he earned--We went to Iceberg for some ice cream and then to the park. He was SOOOO excited all day to use it!

I think this is a great system and can be very useful for many people. I think it is important that if people choose this, they be very READY to implement the program, be COMMITTED, and then be CONSISTENT. 4.5 stars (out of five) for this program!!

So far, I am happy with how things have gone. I believe I still need to work on my part of making sure the ENTIRE program works. But, I am confident that is will continue being a help with our children becoming more accountable and feeling like they take part in the running of the family and home.