Our MWF morning routine is starting to come together now. I get up at 5:30 to get myself ready, then I help Tanner to get moving at 6:10, then I get Lindsey up at 6:40. Tanner leaves the house for the bus at 6:55, and Lindsey and I leave right after that. She loves her morning child care, so it's easy to get her up early.
Until a few weeks ago, Stace and I were having a real problem with Tanner moving fast enough, getting out of the shower soon enough, and making it to to the bus. The process had degenerated into us doing a lot of harassing every few minutes to make sure Tanner got out the door. Tanner resented it, and our mornings weren't pleasant. In that process, he'd leave the bathroom a mess without hanging up his towel or putting away his clothes.
I came up with a new approach a few weeks ago to put the responsibility on him. I now charge him a $15 transportation fee if he misses the bus and I have to take him to school, and I charge him a $5 bathroom cleaning fee if he doesn't straighten up the bathroom. There's no threatening or harassing. It's up to him to get it right or face the consequences.
Much to my surprise, it's worked brilliantly. I don't ever bother him, tell him how much time he has left, or tell him to hurry. Mornings are much more calm and pleasant. He knows it's up to him to get it right. In the ten weeks or so that the system has been in place, I've never had to charge him the transportation fee, and I've only had to charge him the bathroom cleaning fee twice. And I'll gladly take $5 to hang up a towel and put some underwear in the laundry. That's a bargain!
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2 comments:
Ha! This is brilliant! We have the same issue with chaotic mornings at our house. Will have to try this one!
Way to go!
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