I am not much into haggling as a parent. I recently realized that offering choices as to where we go to eat was a disaster as two of three children old enough to verbally communicate would always come up with four options or there would be a lobbying effort intense enough by my sons on the eldest daughter that K Street would be proud. That has caused the decision to return to mom and dad while they can still choose their menu items.
However, I recently came across another blog post about limiting screen time. Limiting screen time? Do I have to do this? My oldest gets his school work done without complaint and without reminder. My wife and I don't even ask anymore because we normally get a look back like don't I always have my work done.
His school work is good, his grades are As, he participates in baseball, he raises money for ALS research, and he serves at church. Kind of hard for me to give him a hard time.
Little brother gets good grades too though getting him to do work under his own initiative has been a little bit harder, but the calendar still says summer. Why am I messing with them?
That being the case, the writer of the aformentioned blog has a great idea. Don't limit screen time. Her answer is you can have all you want once your other stuff is done. Her list is her list and I don't know that it could all be mine, but I am interested in seeing where this exercise may go.
While I have not ever been a huge fan of having to have beds made, I have found that when their beds are at least made they also have a clean floor. When the covers and sheets have been kicked off and cover the floor, they are covering land mines of Legos, baseball cleats or other game paraphernalia, and every item we need at the last minute such as library books to return. That is a good item to have on a list.
As for required reading....eh. Both my sons read well on their own and took on the Harry Potter series entirely too young so it is a little hard for me to require them to do something they already do, i.e. it isn't a chore and I don't want reading to be a chore.
Like required reading, I am also not sure about required creative time. Can you force creative time? Isn't that why Lennon and McCartney were writing lyrics on restaurant napkins because inspiration hit there and not when they were sitting in a room forcing...."creativity."
They also have found themselves in some magical military academy at some point this summer as the "Yes Sirs" and "No Sirs" seem to be flying without request of late. Moreover they are extending these courtesies much more liberally of late than I had previously noted. This has even spread to knocking out chores so it is hard to say do a chore when they are already getting most stuff done. This being the case, do I need to add this to the list if it is already happening?
As we get to the school year I am not sure how to address some rules for screen time, but since they are knocking stuff out anyway, I am not sure if I am going to haggle or not. Maybe Daddy doesn't have a deal.
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