The End of My Rope

The level of chaos in our house increases with every day that the boys grow closer to their teen years.  I thought that having boys meant a drastically lower level of hormones than would be found in a house full of estrogen, but I was wrong.  

I thought that Cameron would be sweet and human until he was about thirteen - I was wrong again.  He is as moody and mouthy as a teenage girl on her period.  I know because I was one.

Ethan is full of frustration for his younger brothers, which I understand having also been the second of four children.  He lacks patience and compassion half the time, but is sweet and thoughtful the other half.  I simply never know what to expect.

Drew picks up on all these traits and magnifies them with his mouth.  I know it's my fault, but if I hear that kid call someone an asshole one more time, I'm going to lose it.

Trent is feeling being the baby and simply cries all the time for what he wants.  Today after church he wanted a Sprite.  I tend to want the kids to plow through them quickly so they'll stop asking for them, so I told him yes.  He then cried because he wanted me to bring it to him while he reclined on the couch.

In all of this contention and discord, Andrew and I have each come up with a discipline plan that might make us, the parents, happy.

My idea is to make the kids sing.  When they fight, they must sing "Love At Home".  When they are mean or call names, they must sing "Kindness Begins With Me".  When they complain about their chores, the must sing "When We're Helping We're Happy".  They must face each other, or the person they offended or were unkind to, and SING, not say, the words to the songs.  If they refuse, they must stand in a corner facing the wall until they comply and complete their performance.  

I like this idea because they usually end up laughing, and if they don't, I certainly will.  It's a win-win.

Andrew's idea is to give each kid 20 one dollar bills at the beginning of each month and every time they talk back, fight, swear, throw a fit, complain about chores, etc., they must give us back $1.  Whatever money they have left at the end of the month they can keep.  I asked Andrew what happens when they run out of money before the end of the month.  He said that's when we get to beat them.

I can live with that.

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