Our NEW Discipline System

You may have found my LAST discipline system on Pinterest because it's been pinned over 1,200 times. I was really in shock that it has so many pins! 

My hope is that it's training children in the way they should go, and helping moms keep their sanity :)

 

It's time to update you on our current discipline system, and I think your going to like this one even better than before. 

A star dry-erase chart. 

All you will need is a small dry erase board and pen. This one is from Target and was around $3.00. 

I began by writing each of my boys names on the board giving a line in between to give space. (Also, please do me a favor and try to always write kids names and words they are trying to read in your very best "elementary" school hand writing. This will help with letter and word recognition) *pet peeve*

I give my boys stars for doing good things. 

Here are some examples on how our 4 year old earns stars. 

 - Getting a good report from school that day

  

- Sharing with their sibling/friend

- Finishing all of his/her chores

-Saying please/thank you/mam/sir without being prompted

-Picking up shoes/coat without being told

-Saying nice things to adults and friends

(You can monitor those as you wish, and based on age)

So when a child gets to 8 stars they get a special prize.

(you can change the number, I just thought this was a good number for our boys) 

However, the best part is: you can take away stars as a form of discipline. No time outs, no spanking, no yelling, just erasing a star. That is why I keep my star chart on the fridge. It's visible for every one to see and they also see you erasing it, and I promise they WONT like it! 

You can form your own decisions about what deserves an erase. 

So when my boys get to 8 stars it's prize day. Prizes DO NOT have to knock out your bank account. We have a Dollar General close to our house, and the boys LOVE going there to pick a prize. My limit is $2.00 and this is a good math lesson as well as reward. 

Other ideas for a prize:

*Ice cream run (favorite ice cream place)

*Dollar Store

*Stock up on $1.00 Target finds and keep them high in a closet. When they get to 8 they can pick from the treasure chest.

*Stay up later than other siblings for a movie in bed with mom/dad.

*Request your favorite meal to be for dinner.

*Pick your favorite friend/family member to visit.

*Go to a special place (bowling,museum)

These rewards don't have to cost money. You can set the limits. That is why I like this system so much. You can change it up. Slow it down if you see your child is always getting 8 stars and you can't reward that fast, then change up your reward stars. Don't give them out for the smallest efforts, but rather for the things you've been working on and they finally are obeying! 

I hope this works for your child/children. It really is a great and wonderful thing in our home. Positive and negative reinforcement all in one place.

 

 

My last post on our "first" go around with a discipline system is HERE.

 

 

 

Please leave me some feedback. Let me know what you like, and don't like about the system. My last discipline system got WAY more positive than negative, but I was surprised how many negative e-mails I got from it. However, I do know when you start talking about discipline moms tend to get feisty. Keep your comments respectful :) 

Happy Training!

Our Discipline System

I thought I would share our discipline system in case some of you moms out there are looking for something other than just constant reminding, time-outs, yelling, or even spanking (if that's what you do). 

I knew I had to do something after about a month of going crazy just randomly disciplining our boys. When we have some kind of system, life seems to be easier at home. 

So I came up with this in the Summer of 2012.

• At the beginning of each day both boys begin on START. Each boy has a clothes pin with their name on it so they clearly know where they are.

• When one of the boys do something wrong (like hitting the other) they will be given their first warning. If they continue to do the bad behavior, I will tell them "I am going to move your clothes pin down." I also use it as a threat if they are doing something when they were just told to stop. (jumping on the couch) "If you don't stop jumping on the couch, you will have your clothes pin moved down". 

• As you can see in the picture below I drew pictures of each level moving down since they are still little and can't read. You could change yours up if you see a different consequence would work better for your kid(s). 

• I like this system because it imitates what teachers use in elementary school. Most classrooms use color/card changes. So this is similar, but gives the child more chances to do better. 

• Karson is almost 4 years old so he understands it a lot better than Kipton (2). He doesn't like it when his clothes pin is moved down, and has even asked if he can get it moved back up. I have said that if I see that he can be better in his actions and choice, then he can get it moved up.

• I do use it when out in public too. I will remind the boys that I will move the clothes pin when we get home if they are not listening and obeying while out at a store, restaurant, etc. 

• I feel like this works best because they can actually "SEE" where they are and see what can happen next if they keep making bad choices. 

As I mentioned earlier, I wrote this post back in 2012. 

If you would like to see our NEW discipline system click HERE. 

I feel like my new version focuses more on the positive with giving stars as you see good behavior. I do believe in showing positive rewards for positive behavior. 

I hope this is something you can take and use for you and your family. Every child is different, as well as every family. 

Remember children are a blessing from The Lord. 

Cherish them, even in their hard times.

Discipline is a part of parenting that is the hardest, but once you see the glory coming from your children and what they have learned, it will be worth the hard days.

Stay Strong!