We are 3.5 days into summer vacation. I have good news and bad news.
The good news is that I have successfully determined the need for some sort of behavior modification plans approximately 6.5 weeks earlier than I discovered the usefulness of such a device last summer. The bad news is that I need some sort of behavior modification plan at all.
The meltdowns we’ve been having every afternoon and yesterday’s hour-long cry-fest tell me so.
While wandering through my happy place yesterday–Target, people. Target–fireworks went off in my brain.
Legos are his currency.
The kid is a Legos fanatic. We cannot go to Target without going to the Legos aisle and naming each and every Star Wars minifigure in the display case. No trip to the mall is complete without spending half an hour oooohing and aaaaaahing over the vast array of boxes there in the Legos store begging to be built (and destroyed by a toddler or stepped on or both).
I’m pretty sure the kid could kill an hour building minifigures and rearranging their plastic hair and accessories.
So this morning, I made this. A Legos-themed behavior chart.
The concept is simple. Earn 20 stickers, one for each star, and you win the game. The prize is a new Lego set.
When I told him he had the chance to earn Legos he was totally on board and I’m happy to report that he’s been in his room for an hour now.
He isn’t sleeping. I can hear him chattering away back there to himself. He might even be playing with the Legos in his room. But so far, so good. We’re working on it.
I haven’t decided if I’m going to let him earn stickers for more than just taking a rest yet, but there’s a good chance I might.
“Don’t hit your sister with the Buzz Lightyear and you can earn a sticker!”
“Instead of swinging your dirty underwear around your head like a helicopter, put them in the laundry basket and earn a sticker!”
I’ll bet you’re all wondering where YOU can get YOUR VERY OWN Legos Behavior Chart, too. Right here is where.
Download your Legos Behavor Chart.
Hey, if it helps even one other mom maintain her sanity during summer break, it will have been worth it.
(If you find this helpful/cool/neat or know another mom it might help, go ahead and share. It’s more fun to share, afte all. Listen to your mother. Yadda yadda yadda. His rest time is over now.)