New mother's ruin
A mother's ruin used to be gin (which is disgusiting thing if you ask me!) but I think I have found a new ruin - bribery. The common bribery tactics (or tictacs as used to be said in a Welsh comic programme when I was little!) in our house are:
Food Time
If you eat all your supper you can have pudding
which normally leads to
If you eat that 2 mouthfuls there, mummy will be very proud and then you can have some pudding...
which then leads to
Will you please just eat something and I'll give you some pudding (normally I have to leave the room and go and swear in a corner by this point!)
Television Time
Car, you can have your telly on and then Bel has hers. Deal!
which is OK until Bel does have her telly on and then Car will throw a tantrum and then we have
Car, we promised remember we did Deal thumbs (don't ask!), remember Bel gets a program now and then you OK!
which may or may not lead to Car's tantrum abaiting or Bel getting fed up of her screaming and will just turn the tv over/off...
Playtime
If you girls play nicely I will give you some crisps/chocolate/cake - this is obiously the one that we most use (or is that just my misconception!)
Pottytime-
As we are forever training Car, the new bribe we now use is If you sit on your potty you will get a sticker.
This is something that actually for bribery works and is still working - it is something they do in nursery when she gets on the big toilet. One of these days she may stay on it for more than a few seconds!!
Obviously the major problem, with bribery is when it goes wrong, when it turns into public enemy number one. This happens in our house because of the gap between Bel and Car, so if , for instance I say to Car eat up, pudding bribe and then she doesn't and I give her pudding anyway Bel goes and has an all mighty humf and says "But you said to her Mummy...." GRRRR
So, do you bribe your kids - and if so with what and does it always work?
BNM
Food Time
If you eat all your supper you can have pudding
which normally leads to
If you eat that 2 mouthfuls there, mummy will be very proud and then you can have some pudding...
which then leads to
Will you please just eat something and I'll give you some pudding (normally I have to leave the room and go and swear in a corner by this point!)
Television Time
Car, you can have your telly on and then Bel has hers. Deal!
which is OK until Bel does have her telly on and then Car will throw a tantrum and then we have
Car, we promised remember we did Deal thumbs (don't ask!), remember Bel gets a program now and then you OK!
which may or may not lead to Car's tantrum abaiting or Bel getting fed up of her screaming and will just turn the tv over/off...
Playtime
If you girls play nicely I will give you some crisps/chocolate/cake - this is obiously the one that we most use (or is that just my misconception!)
Pottytime-
As we are forever training Car, the new bribe we now use is If you sit on your potty you will get a sticker.
This is something that actually for bribery works and is still working - it is something they do in nursery when she gets on the big toilet. One of these days she may stay on it for more than a few seconds!!
Obviously the major problem, with bribery is when it goes wrong, when it turns into public enemy number one. This happens in our house because of the gap between Bel and Car, so if , for instance I say to Car eat up, pudding bribe and then she doesn't and I give her pudding anyway Bel goes and has an all mighty humf and says "But you said to her Mummy...." GRRRR
So, do you bribe your kids - and if so with what and does it always work?
BNM
OMG I do too much, always feel guilty, and half the time it doesn't work. But I'm TIRED dammit.
ReplyDelete(Glad it's not just me.)
I don't bribe my kids. Although, I do give them whatever they want, whenever they want. I find life so much easier that way!
ReplyDeleteIt's not called "bribery" it's called "negotiation" and yes, we've used it and will continue to use it until he is on his own (so you want to use the car, eh? Well, you know, the grass needs mowing.....)
ReplyDeleteI swore I would never use bribery and admit I would look on at other mothers doing it, and be the one thinking 'when I have children, I won't fall into that trap'. hem,roll on 7 years and I am the Queen of bribery, i've done it all, and it works a treat but like you BNM, I am now coming up against a nearly 7 year old who is beginning to work things out - not good, anyone know what the next stage of negotiation is?
ReplyDelete