School's out!

     3 infusion's left and school is done, I am so relieved school is done. My fatigue level is only increasing, and the kids have become lackadaisical with chores and entertaining themselves with non-electronics. I can't deal with that; I can't monitor them and hound them to get them back on track, either. For the last month, I've been telling them that things were going to be getting an overhaul. 

     I guess they had forgotten that I'm not an idle threat, count to 3 and do nothing mom. It started with their IT Dad setting up a wifi router just for their stuff(tablet, computer, etc.) that is programmed to only be on from 3pm-9pm on weekdays and 10 am to 10 pm on weekends. That means no wifi at all, until 3 pm, and, little secret - we don't have cable, all their stuff is Netflix and YouTube Kids. Evil, but I like it! Then on the last day of school, Wednesday, I presented them with these. 

    Saying that they were not thrilled is an understatement. It is, SO much, they just can't even. You have no idea. Just. Seriously?!?! 

   Oh yes my loves. There will be no entitlement in this house.

Your father and I are intentionally raising you this way.

DEAL WITH IT

    The left side is required for electronics, except when it is the whole family. If everyone is watching a movie or show, the lists don't matter. The right is extra stuff, mostly the things I would do that nobody else wants to do. You'll see on the lower left is a payment plan. That cheered them up until I pointed out the right side, where they found that they were going to be paying for their electronics use, and some other stuff. 

  Oh, guys, if looks could kill, shoo-whee! Darling, it's time to learn that very little is actually free, and to be responsible, sometimes we have to forgo what we want for what is necessary. Then the bomb was dropped that parents can take away money for poor behavior, and there are no guidelines for how that works. Our track record for discipline has been that we are reasonable, so they know we won't take everything away on a whim or moment of anger, thus it had the desired effect - a healthy dose of respect for Dad & Mom's power. Of note, we're using fake money that they can cash in for the real stuff.  I'm not going to try to mess with making sure I have enough real cash around. There is a whole system for how all this works that I'm not explaining here unless you really want me too.

    I explained the why(again) that we didn't want them spending endless hours on the computer or the tv, and we can all tell I don't have the ability to monitor them, so these lists are the best option. They understood it; didn't like it, but they got it. We tried to make sure they saw that we're not wanting to be mean or ruin their lives, there are some good lessons to be learned if they are willing.
    Thursday was the first day, and no one earned electronics. It was awful for everyone, but I think it drove my point home. The whole family had become too reliant on devices. At first, the kids had no idea how to cope without a phone, tablet, computer or tv. So they came in our room(where I rest and Bryan has his computer) and whined about general life issues, and to be a nuisance. We kicked them out repeatedly, and finally had to explain that they could go do what was on the lists- look at them, there are fun things to do on them, pick one and GO AWAY!! They ended up outside until just before bed. And, THEY LIVED! I kid you not, they lived through it. We were just as shocked as they were, really. No, but Bryan agreed it was still going to take some time, however, it's a good system.
   My mom was over today, and Xander got his things done, so he's happily watching tv now. Lizzie is at a friends house, but she did not get things done so we may have to add a clause of some sort. Summer, here we come!

Choose Laughter!