Hour by Hour

This weekend was climatic for me and the behavior of my children. I knew that their behavior had been going down hill for the last few months. I just didn't do anything about it. I knew they weren't the best in their classes, but they weren't the worst either. In public, they are angels and we get good comments all the time. But at home... that's another story. My oldest is in that eye-rolling stage. Next oldest has an anger problem, getting angry at me when he gets in trouble. One of our middle children is totally right-brained. She can create the most wonderful things, and just doesn't want to make time for schoolwork or chores. The other middle child has diabetes and her blood sugar fluctuates, so she is whiny from an either too high or too low sugar level. The youngest two are little tornados and can destroy a room in less than five minutes. I forsee a career in demolition.

So it came down to time to fix this enormous mess of bad behavior. So I have devised an hourly behavor chart. Across the page are all their names, down the right side are all the hours they are awake. Each hour, they earn either stars or checks, depending on their behavior. Then at lunch today we celebrated with candy depending on their number of stars and checks. Stars are for good manners, good hygiene practices, picking up their room, doing their schoolwork quietly, and helping others. Checks are for rolling eyes, griping, distracting, hesitating, fighting, and so on. If you get a check you loose all accumulated stars and get an extra chore or lose tv time or other options.

So far so good! They have been so polite to each other, helping each other, we have had a quiet day! Blake has even tried to bribe me with several massages. I know a habit is formed in 21 days, so if we can keep this up for 20 more days, we will be off to a good start.

You know, learning to be joyful can be alot like my behavior modification chart. I can set a goal of being joyful, no matter what, for one hour. When that hour's up, I set a goal to be joyful for two hours, and so forth. Will you do that with me? Set a joyful goal? If you need a visual reminder, tie a thread around your wrist, and when you see it or things start to get tough, say, "The joy of the Lord is my strength." Nehemiah 8: 10. Let's do it and report back.

CIAO!
Jenn