Alex

Alex is on a new plan. After weeks of some pretty serious issues (all on the normal 'hormonal teen stuff' scale, but effecting our lives), Don and I came up with a point system that seems to be working out well. For each job he does above and beyond his daily chores, Alex earns time for his own pursuits... like Gameboy time, X box time, and or movie time. We have separated each job into categories... small jobs earn 3 points (each point in 5 minutes, so 15 minutes) medium jobs are 30 minutes (6 points) and large jobs are 60 minutes (12 points). For each time he mouths back, or doesn't do what we tell him enough times to annoy, we start counting. 1, 2, 3.... etc... that is how many points he looses off of whatever he has earned (being 5 minutes of his own time each). On school days (we don't play games on school days) he can 'bank' points for the weekend, and on the weekend he can keep his points for playing games with friends or whatever.

Yeah. I set up my sons life like a video game. But let me tell you, it is WORKING. I have never had my patio so clean, or my sidewalk shoveled of snow so fast with such a willing worker. He is even going to iron my table napkins.

This plan also comes with learning the safe and easy way of doing chores however... he did clean the patio of ice and snow yesterday with large buckets of hot water. He would fill the bucket up, and take it outside. I was thinking that he was using it for the tougher spots... nope. That is how he did the entire job. Large buckets of hot water poured all over my cement patio. When I told him that the patio would be an ice rink by 5pm he said "but I used HOT water".

Awww... The joy of 12 year olds.