Incentives

Human nature has the best of us -- desires for "stuff" can truly be the driving force for achievements.  At the age of 4, it's the Razor Mini Kick Scooter, and Ethan is very close to earning it.  Unknown to him, I already ordered two, one for him and one for Artimus.  These little scooters are not the least cheap.  But they could do wonders.  To earn this scooter, Ethan had to, among the seven critical items, (1) stop using hurtful words when he gets angry, (2) sleep through the night by himself in his own bed, and (3) get dress by himself everyday.  He had to get six out of seven "happy faces" each day for seven days straight to earn it.  So far, after seven days, he had made marked improvements.  And for two days in a row, he even stopped crawling into my bed until after 6:00 am.  If he gets seven happy faces today as well as tomorrow, you will see him riding that scooter down Grand Street with a happy proud face.  In fact, you might see me, Artimus and Ethan each riding our own scooter down Grand Street on a sunny day.  Yup, mommy got a scooter too.  They can't be the only ones having fun! 

After a year of struggles, the Razor Mini Kick Scooter turned out to be the best motivator for change. 

Oh, in case you are wondering, Artimus has no problem with the big issues, like sleeping.  She has the little issues like whining and not wanting to brush her teeth or get out of the bathtub.  Interestingly, I'll have to hide her scooter until she comes close to earning it.  Right now, she is barely getting five happy faces a day.