Danger Zone

We have officially entered the danger zone. After working for nearly 7 months, one dime at a time, the kids have earned a Playstation 2. Our deal was, if the kids would do chores on the first time with no complaining, they would earn a dime. The dime was not for the chores, mind you, it was for their attitude. They did chores either way.

So, we would buy a $10 roll of dimes every so often and put them in a bowl on the counter. They didn't get a dime every time, but there was always the chance that Mom or Dad would would say something like, "Good work, Ronan. Thanks for the great attitude! That's a dime for you!". It worked really well except when we couldn't afford the dimes. :~| They couldn't put one in on their own, it had to be offered, or sometimes they might try a gentle reminder. Usually that worked in their favor. At some point during the experience, we bought them a piggy bank that counted their money for them as they put it through the slot on top, so they we able to track the total a little more closely.

Anyway, they reached their goal and because of a concentrated effort yesterday, we took them today to buy their PS2. You must realize that this is the cheapest gaming system out there, and the games are affordable too, especially if you can find them used. But the kids are absolutely thrilled and are home frantically cleaning the van at the moment so they can play. We told them that they have earned the system, now they need to keep earning the right to play it. No playing if there is homework or on days when they have cub scouts for sure. But on the days that they have no commitments, they can earn playing time for continued help and good attitude around the house. It seems to be working pretty good. We'll see.