Nanny 911 to the Rescue

We have been really at wits' ends, trying to instill some discipline into our kids. My two boys are really naughty and their little sister follows whatever the big brothers do. So the whole house is, to say the least, always in disarray. I have tried using the 'magic wand' (i.e. the rotan/cane) but the results were always temporary. After the tears from the pain were dry, they go back to the same ways again. I am not really against 'corporal' punishment to discipline kids but when the effects are not lasting and the experience is painful to the kids and heart wrenching for the parents, we really need to revise our strategy. I will still reserve the 'magic wand' for circumstances that calls for it.


Now, we really needed a new strategy, to make the kids listen and obey without me losing my voice and my sanity (I know nobody said raising children is easy). So came a TV show called 'Nanny 911' to the rescue. The show is about a household with crazy kids and 'about-to-lose-it' parents calling Nanny 911 for help. A nanny (from England) will be flown to the family (in US) to help them in one week. With the nanny's help, within the week, the whole family gets turned around, the kids become better behaving and the parents have better control of the household. We love to watch it together with the kids and I wish I can really call Nanny 911 to rescue us. But since we can't, we have decided to do some of the things the nannies recommended, by oursleves.



We have implemented a reward scheme. Firstly, we set down a set of rules of DOs and DON'Ts. When the kids do something they shouldn't or do not do something they should, they get a 'thumbs down'. But if they do something right, they get a 'star'. So they will accumulate the 'stars' and 'thumb downs' for the week. Each 'thumbs down' will be squashed by a 'star'. By the end of the week or even within the week they can redeem rewards using the 'stars' they have collected, after they have paid the 'stars' due for the 'thumbs down' they received.



We have been getting very good response from the kids so far. They really value their stars and they will try to earn their stars by doing the right stuff. And when I reminded them that they will be given 'thumbs down' if they misbehave, they instantly stop. I have not used the 'magic wand' at all and I cannot remember raising my voice, for the whole week which is a miracle! Well, I know it is not a new concept. But seeing it being done in Nanny 911 kind of motivated us to do the same. Of course this system isn't really working with my 2 year old girl but it works wonders with the 2 brothers of hers and she does what the boys do. So when they behave, she does too (to an extent). Nevertheless, the outcome is still great! So, we will see if we can 'retire' the 'magic wand' for good or at least for a good while....