Forms Of Bribery

For Christmas, Santa brought the kids a Wii.  Although Santa is very much against constant gaming, Santa didn't want Ben and Lia to be the socially awkward kids who suck at video games because their parents were morally against bringing one into the house.  

Because that's how I was Santa was growing up.

Well, Santa should have given in long before now.  Who knew that video games were the BEST form of bribery for a seven year old boy?!?  Over break, I could get Ben to do ANYTHING, as long as it was rewarded with more Wii time.

Me:  "Ben, you get one hour of Wii today.  If you do 10 homework pages, you can earn 30 more minutes."

Ben:  "How much time do I get for 20 pages?"

It also works with fear of consequences.

Me:  "Ben, any red cards pulled at school and you lose the Wii for a week."

Ben:  "How much do I lose for a yellow card?" (Ben is all about understanding the rules so he knows just how far to push the envelope.)

Since Christmas this system has been working very well for us.  The key is to restrict the amount of time he automatically gets on the Wii each day, and provide incentives for him to earn more time.  Wii-Time is a form of currency around our house.

Unfortunately, both of our kids got in trouble today (Ben for telling "pull-my-finger" jokes at daycare, and Lia for not listening to the babysitter this morning), so Wii is off limits for a few days.  I'm not sure what we'll do around here without it - maybe just sit around and stare at each other?!?

Just for fun, here's a short video of my kids playing Just Dance 3, showing off their dance moves that they CLEARLY get from their father.