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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Win, Win...I hope

So I decided to take part in the walking program at work. As much as I was against doing it I found a way (I hope) to get my son a little more motivated about keeping up his room. Zachary gets a standard allowance..$5.00 a week to take the trash to the road and put dishes away. He also does other things that help calculate that allowance.

Our biggest battle is the bedroom, ugh! So I made a deal with him, since work pays me to walk in the form of gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods and he is now at the age where he want clothes and shoes and other things, then as long as he takes 15 minutes a day and cleans up his room, I will walk and the gift cards will be his. All this providing he holds up his end of the bargain (I made him shake on hit!) Oh and I take pictures in the morning for proof!

I am hoping for a win, win situation here. My ultimate goal is to get him in the habit of keeping his room clean and I lose the weight. Is bribing him the right thing? Of course not but when you do something everyday for a long period of time, it becomes a habit. Hopefully!

So yesterday at lunch, I put on my sneakers and walked 2 miles. Zachary did his part too, he cleaned under his dresser's. It needed to be done and done badly. So far we are off to a good start.

6 Nibbles & Sips:

Cliff said...

I would consider calling it a commission, rather than a bribe. After all, you have commissioned him to do the work. And it's a good incentive for you, as the reward you get for walking is a clean room, which is what you want. Well maybe less Diamond too. You will probably have to move faster by the end of summer with all the guys chasing after you ;)

Unknown said...

Ah, I spent a good portion of spring break helping the two oldest clean their rooms. They had gotten so bad that I knew they weren't capable of knowing how to start.

We cleaned up every crevice, under every bed, closets top to bottom. I left each of them a 2 ft by 2 foot pile of gadgets, trinkets, and junk to finish.

Neither pile is finished, but one thing that has worked has been the "5 minute tidy." Nothing has to be perfect. They just must clean without stopping for the whole five minutes. They are always shocked at what they can get done with five manic minutes of cleaning.

I also have been working on vaccuuming their room daily. Nothing can be left on their floor if I'm vaccuuming. And anything of value is kept well out of reach from the dreaded Dyson.

Good luck.

The picture idea is a good one.

Nick Phillips (15/03/1967 - 04/11/2022) said...

I think that's a brilliant idea that's going to benefit both of you :D I wish they offered us something like that here though ...

Anonymous said...

It's my friend from the Nonsense blog!!! Yeah!

Diamond said...

You know Cliff I still feel like I am bribing him! Although it is a good one. I just want it to become a habit, that's all.

Diamond said...

Scout, I too have done the same. Once I get it clean I work very hard to make sure he keeps it that way. What amazes me the most is the destruction he can do in one afternoon!