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If homework is not automatic in your home, if it causes some battles, if you know there’s “got to be a better way,” consider Daily Homework Time. Your student will usually have only two kinds of homework: (1) stuff from class they didn’t finish, and (2) stuff they should work on at home to get better and smarter.

The second thing is called Daily Homework Time. The basic idea is for you set aside about 30-50 minutes Monday through Thursday for your student to get smarter; 30 minutes for 3rd graders, 40 minutes for 4th graders, or 50 minutes for 5th graders. Each night, they should practice some math, do some writing, and finish class homework. Other things might be to work on cursive, practice math facts, or work on spelling. There’s no such thing as, “I have no homework,” because there is always something to get better at, such as math practice or writing.

Your student probably won’t do this on their own. But with your guidance, you can help your student get into good habits of doing something every day to improve themselves (not to mention their grades).

Originally posted 2016-09-20 17:36:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Love and Logic tells the interesting story of a child that saved up money received from his grandma. His parents helped him use the value of a dollar to learn the value of good behavior:

Money wasn’t the only thing he saved. He also stored up lots of energy for when Mom and Dad went out. In fact, so much energy that he wore out every babysitter in town.

Mom finally convinced a sitter to work with her to help Junior realize the error of his ways. The deal: If he was good, Mom and Dad would pay for the sitter. If he wasn’t, he paid. This got his attention.

And I bet you can imagine how the next babysitting session went!

Love and Logic suggests using natural consequences like this to teach responsibility. You might be able to find several places you could use this in your family:

• Parents pay for good dentist visits, and children pay for the bad ones if their cavities are caused by not being responsible to brush their teeth.
• Parents pay students to complete some chores (Dave Ramsey says to call this a commission, not an allowance). What if they don’t do the chores? They don’t get paid. Maybe they even pay their parent or sibling to do the chore that they were supposed to do.

What about paying for grades? People disagree about if parents should do this, with some saying paying for grades is like adults getting paid for work. That’s close, but adults are paid for hours worked, not usually on the results of a certain product. So you probably shouldn’t pay for grades.

But if you’ve already started or committed to paying for grades, research shows that if you stop, your student will likely not work as hard for their grades. So you might need to continue for a while, and if you do, this Love and Logic tip might apply. Parents pay for the good grades, and students pay for the bad ones, especially if you have evidence (missing assignments, students not doing their daily homework time, arguments) that they didn’t try their hardest.

Again, paying for grades should not be your top way to motivate your student. If you don’t pay for grades, don’t start now. But if you do, try the tip from this article. And certainly with other areas of your student’s responsibility, look for ways that a student’s greedy little heart for cash can teach them that their actions have consequences.

Originally posted 2016-10-03 06:18:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Originally posted 2017-08-14 15:30:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Judy saved her own life. She used to listen when her kids argued with her. She used to fall for their manipulation. When her teen daughter said, “You love Billy more than me!” she used to get upset and insist, “That’s not true! I love you BOTH!”

Now she takes better care of herself. When the arguing and manipulation start, Judy goes brain dead. She doesn’t listen to the words lest she be tempted to do something dumb – like respond.

Originally posted 2011-09-14 16:22:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The American College of Pediatricians has a good article about the difference between reacting versus responsding to kids.

Reacting means that you meet your child’s emotionally-charged behavior with your own emotionally-charged reply. Responding, on the other hand, gives your child permission to express their big emotions, ideas and feelings without criticism, shame or guilt.”

Read the rest here.

Originally posted 2016-04-11 19:47:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter