Silly Bands

You have seen them. Everyone is wearing them. Those colorful rubber bands that all the kids have around their wrists. It’s the newest craze. Personally, I think they are appropriately named--”silly” bands, that is. I mean, seriously, why would anyone every pay that kind of money for rubber bands? Bands that make shapes of a variety of things? For your kids to wear and share?

Well, I know who would buy them. I would! Now don’t get me wrong. We are not the kind of people that give into peer pressure very often. But, I gave in and bought some. Not only do I allow Caleb to wear them. I encourage it. And best yet, I even wear them.

Want to know why? It is a wonderful way for me to reward and punish Caleb with very little effort on my part. Here is how it works. I wear the bands on my wrist. When I catch Caleb doing something good, even the smallest thing, I give him one. He gets so excited about it that he then starts looking for things to do to get another one. It is wonderful. Then, when he does something he is not supposed to---well, I just ask for one back. It is a great exchange with very little effort on my part. I can wear them on my arm so they are readily available. There is no need to stop what I am doing and retrieve some other kind of reward. No need to spank or put him the corner (because neither really work on him). All I have to do is slip it off of my arm and hand it over. Contrarily, if he is in need of discipline, I just put my hand out. He knows he has to give me one back and on with life we go. That simple.

No, I am not naïve enough to think this will always work. I also know that these bands will not work in every situation. But, for now, they are a miracle for our issues with discipline and I am grateful. So, even though I still think they are silly, I also think they are ingenious . So next time you see our oldest just ask him how many bands he has and what he can do to get another.