I've got the golden ticket . . .

Ok, well not golden really. But we were having so much trouble with ds and I was taking away video game time left and right. I finally had an "aha" moment and decided to try and work the other way. Instead of taking it away, I'll give you opportunity to earn it. So now when he is responsible and respectful he earns tickets that have a predetermined value on them - 15 min, 30 min, etc of either video game time or tv time.

So far so good. We are all focusing on the positive and it's a lot easier to get him to do what needs to be done. I just have to let him know he's losing his ticket earning capabilities and things move along smoothly.

Now I'm praying that it continues to work and make things calmer.

Oh and giving up yelling for Lent - not perfect but way better than before. Maybe by the time Easter Sunday rolls around I'll be enough out of the habit that it won't be an issue any more! Keep your fingers crossed for me!!