Let the punishment fit the crime...

My children...I guess someday they will figure out that rules must be followed, when is another story.

No doubt, through the trials of getting my children to follow house rules I have recalled several instances when I did these same things to my own parents. Looking back on them, I feel really bad that I was such a messy kid for so long...sorry mom (especially about the apple cores!)

Anyway, in teaching my children how to be responsible and "tidy" individuals, we have definitely hit some road blocks! How do we make them keep a clean room? How do we make them remember to feed and water their dogs? How do we keep them out of the dishwasher? How do we make them remember their backpacks before school? How do we keep the baby out of the wood for the wood stove?

And more, more, and more!

Last Sunday, while having Sunday dinner, our dog, Timber, kept jumping up on the window and looking in at us. We just thought she was being strange, as she is known to do different things. However, she kept it up, so finally Toby decided to let them in, thinking they just wanted to be in the house. After they came in, she kept looking down the hall and pacing the kitchen, it was pitiful really. Toby decided to get them a bowl of water and the two dogs nearly drank a gallon a piece, obviously they didn't have water outside. Toby went and checked it out and of course, their bucket was bone dry. Those kids..."forgot" to water their dogs AGAIN!!

Toby and I discussed grounding them, taking belongings away, etc. Those things only work so well and sometimes don't effect them at all. So, we decided to try something else. We decided that waking them up out of a sound sleep at 10:30 at night and making them go out and water their dogs would fit the crime. We went in, flipped on the lights, and woke them from their slumber. My two, half asleep children, went outside (very cold I might add) in their pajamas and coats and went to water the dogs. What a disaster that turned out to be??

They ended up going out three different times because they didn't get it right. They ended up spraying themselves down, and of course, heard a "cougar." While there were a few times I felt like caving, we stood our ground and the dogs got water. The kids then got a firm talking to and were sent to bed, an hour after being awakened.

I hope that this was a good learning experience for them. Maybe they won't do it again, or maybe they will, but they will know what punishment will be coming.

The next day, after three days of asking them to clean their room, we pulled another "chore" trick out of our hats. Instead of cleaning the room, they decided to shove everything under their beds, in their drawers, in the closet, and everywhere else they could find. We decided to pull it all out of its secret hiding spots and put it in the middle of the room. They got to clean it up after school. They were so bummed to say the least, but it ended up being amazingly clean when they were done! Amazing, they do know how to do it right?!

Sometimes, I feel like as a parent, we have new tricks to pull out monthly, some work some don't but in the end, we write our own parenting books (for each child). No one could write it for us, but it does make for wonderful stories (and nightmares for the kids) for later in life when they are grown and we reminisce about all the tragedies they endured...haha. I know I have done this with my own parents.

While parenting can be hard and very tricky at times, it is the best job in the world and I would start it all over again if I knew it would be this great with these three amazing kids and the support of the wonderful man I call my husband.