Creative Punishment

Grounding, time out, and spankings not working? Get creative! Recently Mama's older son decided that while he could do the work it was just too much of an effort to turn it in. He promptly went from an A to an F...in 6th grade reading. For the record - precious little sweetums reads and comprehends on a college level. He was not bored; his teacher lets him read what he wants to read. Mama's third grade little precious has developed a mouth. Grounding did not seem to truly solve either issue.

Yes, one little sweetums turned in his school work and brought his grade up to a B....but did he learn a lesson? Somehow, Mama doubted it.

Yes, one mouthy little sweetums stopped running his mouth for about a day, but went right back to it.

So Mama decided a little creative punishment was in order. When we do not get good grades, we do not usually go to college. While it is possible to get a good job without a degree (Dear Old Dad is a fine example of that), it is a bit more likely that one would be able to move out of the basement if one had a college degree....note that Mama said "more likely" because she does know what the economy is like. When we get mouthy with a boss, we lose our job. Either way - the work one can eventually do is very limited.

To prepare them or expose to them to their probable future Mama had them move the table, the dog crate, and the dog food out of the kitchen. Our kitchen is rather small. Those were the only things Mama could get away with making them move without being accused of abuse.

They each took a turn sweeping the floor...even under the cabinets. Then, Mama made a sink full of Mr. Clean with Febreze and a rag. Yes, that's right. Mama had her precious little sweetums scrub the floor on their hands and knees.

Idle hands at school = not so idle hands at home. Smart mouth at home = needing something to keep the mind busy.

We are the proud owners of a sparkling kitchen floor and should it be required...we do have two bathrooms.

They have decided that school work and holding of the tongue are far easier than scrubbing a floor on their hands and knees.