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Home › Articles › Communication › Dog Doo To Do

Dog Doo To Do

An excerpt from: Hidden Messages: What Our Words and Actions Are Really Telling Our Children

By Elizabeth Pantley

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  • D) If this is a repeat offense, you might invite your child to sit down for a heart-to-heart. Express your displeasure and your expectation. Brainstorm a solution to the problem. For example, you may decide that she needs to create a checklist and keep it posted in a prominent place, such as on the front of the refrigerator, so that she'll remember to do her chore each day. Then hand her a piece of paper, a ruler and a box of markers and ask her to create the checklist then and there.
  • E) You might choose to do it yourself. I know, I know -- you're thinking, "What!?!" But wait, you didn't let me finish. Do it yourself and let her know which of your jobs she can do for you. ("It's 6:00, and since you did not pick up the dog doo, I took the time to do it for you. Which means that, in return, you'll take the time to pull the weeds for me after dinner.")

    • Keep in mind that, if you already have demonstrated a gift for 'gentle reminding, asking, nagging and hinting‚' it will take some time to convince your child that you have changed. And she'll only get the hint that you mean business if you're consistent in employing the last step ("act"). If you repeat step 3 ("warn"), twice, three times, a dozen times -- then you defeat the process and default into your old Nag Mode.


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