I’m looking for ideas on motivating kids. My own kids.
We’ve been working our plan of setting boundaries, clear expectations, responsibilities to ensure ownership in our household, but there’s a lot of resistance that I guess I just didn’t expect. Some of it is passive aggressive behavior… like when my daughter does everything else possible to avoid having to go and take a shower (she’s hungry, she’s checking her assignments online, she’s deciding on what to wear tomorrow, she’s looking for her shoes, etc.).
My biggest gripe is the STUFF that gets left wherever it lands upon entering the room. Backpacks, shoes, purses, jackets, pencil pouches, lunchboxes. And that’s just when they come home from school.
I recently posted to my personal Facebook account the following update: wondering what’s not clear about “Don’t leave your backpack in the floor beside the table” or “Pick up your clothes from the bathroom after your shower”
I got some great responses, one of which I think I’m going to try. A friend said that she bags up her kids’ stuff that they leave out, and she charges them a quarter per item to get it back. I think I like that idea! I tend to be proactive and anticipatory, so I’m already gearing up for the crying and gnashing of teeth that’s going to happen the first time I try it. I’ve been talking to my kids to let them know what I will be starting so that they can process it… I hope I’m not just building up their momentum to resist the new plan!
I need your help. What are your ideas?
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Since I am a teacher and I see 400 middle schoolers every day, I can’t wait to hear other effective ideas. One thing I have figured out is that our students must be “put out” by leaving their stuff laying around. As adults, if we leave something across town we have to get in the car and go all the way back and get it. If our students leave their stuff outside of a locker, we collect it. They have to make an extra effort to get it back. Most get tired of making the extra effort and decide to take care of their stuff. It took a lot of diligence in the beginning, but we can see it paying off in the small size of our lost and found.