Braggin' Wagon Wednesday: Encouraging Good Behavior

Even kids need new years resolutions sometimes. I have been working diligently to reduce Dexter's temper tantrums for a few weeks now, but he kept forgetting. Grandma Marde gave me the great idea to have a tantrum calendar, and put a sticker on everyday that he doesn't have a tantrum, so he feels like he gets a reward. He also gets a treat on Saturday's if he gets 5 stickers in a week. I didn't want the other kids to get jealous so I came up with some areas that they could use some improvement too. Corbin has an annoying habit of talking in baby talk, so we decided to get rid of that. Ivy's is a little more complicated, she's (very slowly) potty training. Right now she is getting a sticker as long as she's willing to sit on the potty a few times a day. We'll increase the difficulty as time goes on. (Grandma also sent the calendars and stickers, thanks Marde!) Anyway, so far so good. Hardly any temper tantrums or baby talk, and Ivy is loving the potty. It feels great for me to be less annoyed with them, and it feels great for them to get to accomplish something. I hope they keep up the good work.

Ivy practicing her potty skills. Still nothing in the potty, but she'll get there.

Check this out: Dexter is SMILING for the camera! I think this shows that he is much happier without feeling like he needs to be angry or sad all the time! He barely looks like himself! (ps, isn't the picture he drew adorable? Its supposed to be Daddy!)

I don't have a picture to demonstrate Corbin's lack of baby talk, but he's basically cut it out, cold turkey! Its very nice to be able to understand him on a regular basis.