As part of my kids treatment, we go to a child counselor about one time a month. One of the things we worked on is holding my kids accountable when they need to do things. She suggested making a checklist of everything they needed to complete and by what time, then giving them the power to get it done (or not)
I was very skeptical - I mean, my kids with just a checklist to keep them on track? Imagine my surprise when it actually worked!
Not only did it work, but the kids were so excited about it, they wanted me to write everything down on it, just so they could check it off.
Basically, here's how it works: each morning after breakfast I make each kid a checklist of absolutely everything i want them to get done before lunch. Then, my kids bolt to their rooms, completing tasks and burning through their list.
I am a bit concerned about how this will work in 2 weeks when school starts, but I think I can make it work for us. I am thinking of a morning checklist, which I will prepare the night before, since both kids will be using alarm clocks this year, and an after school version.
So far, the system has worked wonderfully, with the exception of today. They appear to be more apt to finish things when given a list first thing in the morning, as opposed to the middle of the day like today.
I will update our progress soon. What do you think - is this something that might work for your kids?
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