About a week ago we started a new reward schedule with the boys. We’ve been struggling with some negative behaviors and wanted a fresh start to get them actively working on their particular issues. At the end of each week we tally their goals and see what they’ve accomplished. They had a respectable showing, especially considering it was only the first week.
Both boys accomplished half their goals and were able to select a reward from a small list. One of the choices is to earn $10, which can be saved or spent as desired. Monkey opted for this choice. He spotted a t-ball set at the store recently and decided that’s what he wanted to buy. He’s never shown interest in baseball before, so we were happy to see that he was branching out in his ideas for fun activities. He determined, quite adamantly, that he would be saving his money until he had enough to purchase the t-ball set.
After about 2 days of focusing on the t-ball set, he changed his mind. He decided it would be much more fun to go with something he’s already familiar with and quite adept at. Computer games. Yep. I wasn’t surprised. As soon as he’d changed his mind, he became obsessed with going to the store to spend his money NOW. So, after confirming repeatedly that this was really what he wanted to do, we negotiated the terms of a spur-of-the-moment shopping trip. One of the key things he had to accomplish was to finish whatever dinner we put on his plate. If he did that, I could take him out on a special shopping trip after dinner.
We knew we would have to be fast because bedtime was rapidly approaching. Monkey was practically chomping at the bit to eat his dinner and get out the door. He decided that he wanted to buy the “Jeopardy!” game for his laptop and he knew exactly which office supply store had it. So, we were off.
I’d had a long day, and frankly, the time change had thrown me off. I had been feeling a bit drowsy for a portion of the day and couldn’t seem to snap out of it. As we were driving along and listening to the radio on our way to the store, I let out a huge yawn. I said, “Boy! I am so sleepy!” You want to know what Monkey excitedly said to me? “You can’t be tired! We’re going shopping!” Now, that’s my boy!
I immediately grinned and thought how easily those words could have come out of my mouth. I consider myself a combat shopper, after all! When I’m on a mission to hunt for bargains, you better watch out!
Needless to say, Monkey was a little late getting to bed because we ended up having to drive to 3 different stores before we found the game. He bought it and his joy was palpable. And, I’m still grinning. He’s my boy.