Reward Jar

Jon and I have been having a difficult time with Kennedy's attitude lately. 95% of the time, she is sweet, kind, loving, obedient, keeps us laughing and makes good choices. But the remaining 5% of the time, she exhibits naughty behavior, which includes an attitude, talking back and stomping of the feet. (I know, and she's only THREE!)

I decided that, although I felt I was consistent, I wasn't consistent enough and I gave her too much rope at times. SOOOO... almost all of the time when she is being naughty, I don't give her chances anymore. We go right to the punishment, which most times results in a spanking/time out depending on what she does. But the most important change we made was starting a reward jar (thanks to my good friend Julie!). Every time she cleans up without throwing a fit or waits for something patiently - just two of the many examples - she gets to put a ball in her jar. When the jar fills, she gets to pick a special place to go and spend the day with Mommy and Daddy. She decided immediately when we started (3 weeks ago) that she wants to go to Monkey Joe's! LET ME TELL YOU... her attitude has done a 180. I know she still tests us, but she's changed a lot. We do not bribe her with the balls by telling her, "If you're good, you get to put a ball in your jar!" We are just acknowledging when she makes good choices and OBEYS us. That is the BEST lesson you can teach your children. The Lord tells us that we need to obey our parents and I know she understands that now. Listening to your parents is important, but showing them that they are doing what God tells them to do, helps put things into perspective. The younger you teach them, the better! He put us in this position of authority over our children and it's a role we should never take for granted! :)

We're excited for the change we see in her and I continue to pray for wisdom and patience when parenting. Because let's face it, you can NEVER have enough of those two things!