I do love parent hacks and this one, that I came across this morning, has SO much potential for wider use, its possibilities are almost endless.
I have a bit of a thing about good table manners.
I like the correct cutlery to be used for the correct things; I can't bear elbows on the table and the sound of smacking lips and/or food being masticated makes me want to throw up!
This particular parent hack essentially turns learning good table manners into a game; the principles are simple:
The manners to be learned/practised are decided in advance, let's say there are five of them.
Five sweets, or any other little rewards of your choice, are then up for grabs per person at the table - if you have a child motivated by money then pennies would work well, it would cost you no more than £1.55 a month and THEN provides the opportunity to teach money values!
The mission, should everyone choose to accept it, is to achieve all five manners whilst trying to catch the others NOT doing it right!
I live in a competitive household and this would have been a LOT of fun when The Teenagers were small...I wonder if I can adapt it to work with: learning how not to be hormonal gits or not telling your mother you've put your washed and ironed clothes away when you HAVEN'T!
Let us know if you've come up with genius ways to turn learning things into fun, rather than agonising torture for all involved.
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