Deal or No Deal..

When Rizqi was still our only child..
and the only grandchild..
from both my parents and my hubby's.
Just imagine how spoiled he was!!

Everyone bought him gifts..
clothes, books, toys..
everything that he wants!!

That's maybe why,
my second child, Raihan,
was happy enough just playing with Rizqi's toys.
Because my house was loaded
with the best and latest toys there were..
But still, every now and then..
he also wanted to buy new ones..
And when he did, Rizqi also had to buy one.





So, I started to apply this..
Maybe you mommies already know about this..
The reward and punishment technique..

First,
I set the rules, example..
Waking up in the morning,
without crying and whining
or
Eats breakfast, lunch and dinner,
by themselves
finish up before half an hour,
without crying and whining..
and so on
Through out the day
from they wake up in the morning
until they go to sleep at night.

Then,
Every time they can fulfill one rule,
they'll get one sticker.

And then, there are helping bonuses..
So, if I wanted some help..
All I have to do is..
Just ask them in return for some amount of stickers..
lol
And, there are manners bonuses..
So, if they said thank you and please, behaved nicely,..
I'll give them a small sticker.
But, if they got into a tantrum or hit, kick or say bad words..
I'll remove one of their stickers.

Finally,
At the end of the week
we'll count their stickers..
If they had reached 50 stickers..
I predicted it will take them a week or so to collect..
They can exchange them with a book or a toy with the price under 20 thousand rupiahs..

Or they could continue,
collecting them until 200 stickers..
Which I predicted will take them a month or so to collect..
They can exchange them with a toy with the price under 100 thousand rupiahs..

Sounds complicated?
But it was running like a charm..
Until it got to a time..
when they were very good..
obey all the rules..
aim all the bonuses..
So, sometimes, I'll run out of stickers..
Or to be worse..
I'll run out of money to buy the books or the toys..
LOL..
So, I ended up owing my children..*sigh..lol*

So, I stopped
Because they started to don't care..
whether they'll get stickers or not..
And they're not into toys anymore anyway..

The oldest 2, Rizqi and Raihan are big enough, to behave, the be responsible, and most of all..to understand..


Now,
I'm getting trouble with the two younger ones, the twins, Tama and Dika..
Going to the mall with them is a suicidal attempt..lol
They'll whine and nag all the way..
from the time we get there..
'till the time we leave.

From wanting to buy toys..
"Ok, a small one ya babe.."
"Nooo..I want the big one!!"
*which they already have a similar one! Only a slight difference with the series before..but yet the price is totally different!!*
Ignored..

Walk a bit further..
Wanting to buy candies..
"Ok, this one ya babe..and share.."
"Nooo..I want the one with the toy on top!!"
*which the candies don't even taste good, the toy will easily break..but yet it cost ridiculously!!*
Ignored..

To something that you won't even think of..
Wanting to cut their hair..
"Ok, we'll go to your usual barbershop ya babe.."
"Nooo..I want to go now..here in the mall!!"
*really babe, are you kidding me? Your hair is still neat..and the price they put for a simple trim is a nightmare!!*
Ignored..

When you thought there's nothing else that they possibly want..
Surprisingly, they do..
Wanting to buy clothes..
"Ok, this t-shirt is nice.."
"Nooo..I want that bandanna!!"
*which is a 400 thousand rupiahs bandanna, that he didn't even need..and OMG, the price for a piece of cloth!!..and off course, the one that I offered him was the ones on discount..lol*
Ignored..

It will go on and on..
and on..
So, a trip to the mall..
is sure one struggling trip!

Haven't found a way yet..
that can be adapted for all 4 of them..
that can use the same standards..
that won't make them envy one another..
For now..
Just try to avoid malls..
as frequent as possible..
Especially when we only..
have just the enough money..no extra..

Well, actually, its not only at the mall..
It's everywhere..
Constantly..
It's a good test for your patience though..
It's also good for testing your consistency..
and to test how smarter you are than them to give reasons not to, to argue with them..
Trying as hard as I could..
not to give up to them..
not to give in..
lol..
But sometimes..
When they're super nice..
and I've got the extra money to spend..
Or maybe just don't have the energy..
and the heart..
to say NO!
or just to argue..
Ok, that's it!

Eventually,
It's up to us how to compensate the budget from something else..
Hopefully we won't get over budget !!
But if we do, when most often we do, we'll manage..we'll deal with it..

Aren't we mommies, fairies or what?..^_^
And all your wish will come true..
Triing!!..