This article was in the Deseret News on Monday and I think it has some good ideas. Hope you do too.
BACK TO SCHOOL by Michelle Garrett
Corey Moore, of Cedar Hills, says that for some reason her son, Kyle, likes to wear the same outfit every day. Sometimes these clothes end up with stains and tears. With the new school year approaching, Moore wondered how she could get her son to dress presentably every day without a fight.
This is among the manu challenges parents face when school starts every fall. Parents suggest varying methods of dealing with the summer-to-school transition and getting their children ready for a school year of success.
Moore solved her son's clothes-repeating problem by taking the advice of an experienced schoolteacher in her neighborhood-she uses contracts. These contracts set a standard of behavior for her children to follow and rewards for them when they meet that standard.
With her son Kyle, Moore made a contract that he can't wear the same clothes more than once a week. If he keeps the contract, he gets a reward, and if he breaks the contract, the reward is withheld.
"Now the parent isn't the bad person, it's the contract," Moore said.
Moore plans to make a new contract before school with three of her four boys who are in school. She said she will do her best to include everything she can foresee being a problem, including getting up on time and doing their homework.
Every time her children accomplish one of the items in their contracts, they earn points.
Moore keeps track of the points on a paper on her fridge and once a month her family holds an auction. She buys candy and toys from the dollar store and her children can "buy" them with the points they've earned by their good behavior.
Moore says the biggest advantage she's seen from making these contracts with her children is it makes them responsible for their own behavior.
They know if they don't do them (the things on the contract) they won't get the reward. So now I'm not constantly nagging all the kids to get things done."
Moore also supplies her children with planners-even in elementary school-so they can write down what they have to do each day...
...She also has recognized the importance of allowing her children to mess up sometimes. If they forget their lunch one day, they will suffer the consequences of that and be less likely to do it again. She also recognizes that it's better for them to make mistakes now when they're younger and the consequences are smaller...
...Social worker Janet Lehman posted some tips on the website empoweringparents.com on how parents can help their children succeed in the new school year, especially if they've had problems in the past.
Lehman recommends calling a family meeting sand formally deciding as a group what things need to change for the better for the new school year.
She advises parents to be realistic, specific and set the expectation for improvement. Once the school year starts, Lehman tells parents to find help among those who work at their children's school and to remember that it's never too late to change and implement structure into your child's life...
I left out parts, but put the things I liked bests. Happy new school year to all! Mom
