A New Discipline Tool

Garrett has always been a child that likes to test our parenting skills. I think we will spend the rest of our lives trying to figure out how to parent him because he is always bringing us new challenges! We recently took the advice of Lynette, our daycare lady, and are taking a "3 strikes and you're out approach." We chose 3 rules that should not be broken. This we easy - Greg and I immediately agreed on: no hitting, no screaming at mom & dad, and you cannot say "no" to mon & dad. With Garrett's help, I drew picures to represent each rule on a piece of paper. This paper is now on the fridge with 3 magnets on it. As he breaks a rule (no 2nd chances or warnings), a magnet is removed and he goes to time-out in his room. If he looses all 3 magnets, he spends the last hour before bedtime alone in his room. This might sound like fun, but trust me, the one time this happened, he was begging to come out after 20 minutes! If he does something nice or remarkable, he can earn a magnet back. If he keeps all 3 magnets all day long, he gets a special treat before bed (he has already chosen candy necklaces!). So far this plan is working nicely! He is still breaking rules at times, but the consequences are very clear.

Today on the way home from daycare, Avery was bugging Garrett. He says, "Mom, I think we need to get Avery some magnets soon!" I agreed that, yes, we will probably need them for her pretty soon!