Now my kids will be perfect!

My kids are really hard, and I honestly don't think that it's just because I'm their mom. They're so high energy, and they really seem to enjoy fighting sometimes. And they get some seriously bad attitudes. Even sweet little Katy has started biting when she gets mad! So, I'm constantly trying to come up with new ways to deal with them.

A few days ago I realized we haven't been doing allowance since we moved 2 months ago. I think allowance is both fun & important for them. It teaches them the value of money, how to save, etc. So I want to start giving them allowance again. But I don't want to tie it directly to good behavior. I'm not sure why, but I'm pretty sure I've heard that you aren't supposed to. But I really need them to have motivation to be good, and time outs really don't seem to be a deterrent to being naughty!

So here is what I've come up with. I made a chore chart with days of the week across the top, and 7 jobs down the side. I want to give them $2, so 8 quarters, a week. I was thinking of doing a quarter a day if they do all their jobs, plus a bonus quarter if they get all 7. But my friend Gayelinn mentioned paying individually for separate things, and I think I'm going to try that. If they do one of their jobs all 7 days, they'll earn a quarter. And if they successfully do all 7 jobs all 7 days, they'll get that bonus quarter. Here are their seven jobs:

Be Kind
Be Respectful
Do Morning Jobs (make bed, put jammies away or in the hamper, etc.)
Do Evening Jobs (get in jammies, put clothes in the hamper, etc.)
Set or Clear the Table (the boys will trade off)
Feed the Dog (2 dogs here, each boy will do 1)
Pick up after Yourself

I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to quantify if they've been kind or respectful, maybe 3 strikes and you don't qualify for the day. I hope this works! I'm really excited to try something new!

Oh, and I've really noticed lately that if their routine gets disturbed, they're exceptionally bad. So I will do my part by making sure they have good meal & snack times, bed times, etc. And I will take away computer & Wii time when they start fighting, even though it makes my life harder. I think this is all I'm going to focus on for the New Year - being really aware of what they need, and not taking the easy way out (like allowing them to keep playing just because it's easier for me). Wish me luck!