Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Bribery Isn't Just For Politicians
I have a confession to make. Actually several. One of the regular go-to's in my parenting repertoire is bribery. Or, as is used in common PC parlance today "rewarding good behavior." When reasoning fails and time-outs are impractical, I resort to bribery. Usually it's little things. Like, get in your car seat and I'll give you a snack. Or, finish the food on your plate and you can have a treat. But I admit, I recently came up with a pretty big bribe for my 6 1/2 year old that I think will work for all involved.
Which brings me to my second confession: my 6 1/2 year old still has a blankey that she sleeps with and sucks on. Ever since she was a baby, she never wanted a pacifier and never sucked on her thumb. It was all about her blankey. We've tried several times before to wean her from her blankey, which she swears she needs to fall asleep. But, we've been pretty lax, especially since her 2 1/2 year old brother also has a blankey fetish.
But lately she's been asking me for a new "toy." At 6 1/2, my daughter wants an iPod Touch. Really wants one. I'm not all that surprised, though. First, I'm very attached to my iPhone and one version ago, used to let her play with it until she dropped it and broke the screen. Second, the iPod Touch is really very cool and very intuitive to use - even at 2, my son figured out how to unlock my iPhone and scroll through photos. But I'm sure the most convincing factor is that her two very best buddies at school both have iPod Touches. Lest you think that this is uncommon and that they're somehow spoiled, check out this article on how the iPod Touch is the new Sesame Street.
So, here's my grand bribe of all time. We agreed that if she got rid of her blankeys and lasted for the whole summer, we would then get her an iPod Touch for her birthday (in late September). We probably would have gotten her one anyway, as not only are there a ton of educational apps but in the long run it's cheaper than a Nintendo DS which, with just 3 easy-to-lose games, is already more expensive than an iPod Touch. But if she's able to go blankey-free, we all win. I'll have a 7 year old who doesn't suck on blankeys and she'll get an iPod Touch. I think it's pretty genius, actually. Let's just call it a reward for good behavior.
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