Happy Heart Helpers

I'm sure I'm the only one, ahem, but my kiddos seem to have a difficult time with full obedience lately. Obeying they first time they are asked; obeying fully; obeying respectfully.

We have a saying in our house: Obey - Right Away, All the Way, With a Happy Heart.





I'm sure I didn't come up with that nifty saying on my own, but I honestly don't know where it came from if I didn't. I do know that I say it often. Too often lately.

So in hopes of encouraging the kiddos to obey fully, I set up our Happy Heart Helper Jars.



When they obey fully - meaning Right Away (as soon as they are asked), All the Way (doing all they were asked to do), and With a Happy Heart (without arguing or complaining) - they will earn pom poms in their jars. When their jars fill up, they get to choose a prize. Fro-yo date, trip to Hobby Lobby for craft supplies, trip to the Dollar Store or the toy aisle at Wal-Mart have been their ideas lately. Hoping that since they are responsible for how they act and what their prize is {within reason!}, they will take ownership of the entire process.

One thing that seems to help with this is that if they do something blatantly unkind or disobedient, they must take pom poms out of their own jars. Ouch! Hurts a lot more for them to do it rather than Mama or Daddy doing it for them. Responsibility, folks. It may be lost in culture, but it's not lost in our house!!