This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Using Tickets to Eliminate Misbehavior

A mom wonders how to recharge the stalled Ticket system to eliminate her children's misbehaviors.

Dear Susan,

After reading your articles, I've started Tickets in our home.  Things have gotten better but now my children (7 and 4) seem to misbehave until there is just one ticket left.  Then they're little angels.  I feel like we are so close to eleminating the misbehaviors but can't quite cross that last hurdle.  What can I do?

So Close in Sandy Springs

Find out what's happening in Decatur-Avondale Estateswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Dear So Close,

Congratulations to you for staying the course long enough for the misbehaviors to be reduced.  You're right, this is not a complete victory as the misbehaviors need to be eliminated*.  

Find out what's happening in Decatur-Avondale Estateswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I think I understand the problem.  

For the purposes of my answer, I'm going to assume you started Tickets with 3 tickets per day.  

Now that the children have changed enough to have one ticket by bedtime, it's time to change the program a little. Starting tomorrow, reduce the tickets from 3 per day to 5 per week.  This still allows a margin of error, albeit a smaller one. Once the children successfully have at least one ticket at the end of each week, change the program again to 3 tickets per week.  When the children have one ticket at the end of the week, you can eliminate the program unless there is a new misbehavior that pops up.

For a complete explanation of Tickets, pick up a copy of John Rosemond's The Well Behaved Child or read my earlier post, ."

*elimination does not mean perfection.  It is appropriate to always allow a margin of error.  We all make mistakes and reasonably well-behaved children will make mistakes, too.    

Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Susan

Master Leadership Parenting Coach

susan@parentcoachatlanta.com

www.ParentCoachAtlanta.com

If you have a question you want answered, e-mail susan@parentcoachatlanta and you may be published!

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Decatur-Avondale Estates