Desperation!!!

I thought parenting was hard when my boys were babies. And don't get me wrong, the sleep deprivation, teething, eating issues and potty training were all hard at that time. As my boys get older, though, I think those days were a cake walk compared to the issues we are dealing with now. The issues we deal with most in our house these days are the smart mouth (Judd), potty mouth (Jack), lack of respect for others, forgetting manners, complaining when told to do something, whining when having to do something they don't want to do and talking back. See a pattern here? It's all issues with the tongue!! I am sure this is payback for me! Growing up, I was a pretty good child, but had a hard time holding my tongue! Most of my time spent on restriction and in trouble involved my mouth! I had a hard time not holding my tongue when I should've or trying to get in that last word! God has a funny sense of humor, since he has me going through the same thing now with my boys. I can't even imagine what the teenage years are going to be like! Help me Jesus!

After trying many different methods of punishment (sending them to their rooms, taking away video games (for weeks at a time), losing privileges of playing with friends, spanking, taking away the TV, writing the fruits of the spirit (multiple times) etc... I was feeling down right desperate! I was ready to call The Super Nanny, Dr. Phil, the Army or something! After much trial and error, I think we have finally figured out a system that works for all of us!

My friend, Tammy, who has 2 boys the same age as ours, started using marbles as an incentive for her boys. It seemed to be working for her, so I thought I would give it a shot! The way it works is, the boys each have a jar with their name on it. They receive a marble any time they do a good deed, use their manners without being reminded, help out someone, take initiative in doing something they know they are supposed to do, do their chores without arguing and whining, etc.... On the flip side, they can also lose a marble for forgetting their manners, whining, arguing, being mean to each other, using bad judgement in a situation, etc.... The idea is whenever they fill up their jar, they get to pick out a new video game of their choice!

We have only been doing this for a few days, but it seems to be working so far! They are very anxious to fill up their jars! I have never heard no many "yes ma'am's" in all of my life! Ha! We are off to a good start! I just hope they keep up the excitement! Hopefully, we will be making a trip to the video game store in a few weeks!