Oh this girl. She is definitely giving me a run for my money. Pushing all the
But I’m getting creative remember? ;)
So, just how creative have I become these days?Well, let me tell you . . . This little diva decided she would tell all the girls at school that I made her eat rotten food as part of her punishment (I’m creative, but NOT cruel). So, for a few days she had a little humiliation of getting her picture taken at every meal as proof she was being fed well (Chicken Fried Steak, Mash Taters, & Mac ‘n Cheese – hardly rotten!)
As part of her “loosing everything” for lying CONTINUALLY, signing my name on one of her papers, & failing to give me her progress report & telling her teacher I just didn’t sign it because I was too busy & didn’t care – she lost the privilege of buying a lunch (*this is a “cool” thing for her – none of the “cool” kids bring a lunch). And what do you know, Day 1: She “forgets” her lunch. Guess who hand delivered it just in time to hang out all of her lunch time with her & her “cool” friends? Yep. If I gotta take her lunch to school then I might as well stay, right? I really enjoyed myself too & while I was there – I cleared up a few misunderstandings as her friends had the wrong impression of me as the awful terrible wicked step-mom. UPDATE: She hasn’t forgotten her lunch again.
As I mentioned above, lying is the main issue we are dealing with concerning Miss “I Think I’m Smarter Than You & I Can Get Away With It”. We are seriously at our wits-end with the lying. So for the past few weeks she had almost all her privileges taken away. That didn’t seem to do the trick, so she had a few punishments add . . . She not only has to go to bed early, but she also has to get up early. Early to bed, early to rise. :) The dishwasher is a total amenity, so she now has to wash dishes by hand. She also has had an extra chore of my choice or a la carte the “Job Jar” each day. Add copying some scriptures about lying, writing a few definitions, memorizing a quote on lying, & reading a book. Then there is the physical labor . . . Ahh, welcome to boot-camp girlfriend. Running, sit-ups, & push-ups galore!
We didn’t get to this point overnight, she has “earned” every bit of her consequences, but with that said, she is also earning everything back. We’ve listed all her lost privileges & punishments on bits of paper & made a special jar just for her. When we notice she is doing well or told the truth about something she gets to draw out of her jar. When her attitude is bad or she is caught lying it starts all over.
Lying is a huge deal to me. If I ever have to go to bat for my kids or if something awful ever happens to them, I have to be able to trust them & believe what they are telling me. At first, I would just get angry with her lies, then it really hurt my feelings, now it is truly taking a toll on our relationship – especially because I’m usually the one she is pointing fingers at blaming for her bad choices. Yes, we are working on taking responsibility for our own actions as well.
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