Ok, I'm sure those against it can come up with a million reasons why it's bad parenting to resort to bribery to get your kids to listen to you and do what you want them to do. I guess, then, you must be much better parents than I am because bribing my kids has gotten me through so many situations that could have turned into real disasters. And so, I have absolutely no shame admitting that I bribe my kids and it works wonders.
Then again, they're also only 3 and 6 years old, so the stuff I bribe them with is pretty simple. A lollipop for my stubborn 3-year-old if he gets in his car seat quickly and let's me buckle him in without acting as if I'm trying to tie him down to execute him or something. Five minutes on the iPad for my 6-year-old if she lets me talk on the phone without interrupting every second. Stuff like that…
Sure, I'm probably raising little monsters, but it's what works for me and that's the only thing that matters right now.
I will say, though, that one thing I don't see myself doing is bribing my children with some kind of monetary reward in order to get them to do something I need them to do when I need them to do it. I don't care if other parents do it and it works for them, but I could just see how my kids would eventually figure out that to get some money from me all they have to do is refuse to do something and wait for me to bribe them.
I might be sending a similar message to my kids with the bribing I do right now, but the way I see it is: why try to reason with a hard-headed 3-year-old who refuses to get in his car seat while it's 5 degrees outside and I feel like my hands are going to fall off, when promising a lollipop will get him to do it immediately?
But if anybody has a better way of getting him to do what I want, I accept any and all REAL suggestions that you know will work for sure!
Image via Brit./flickr
