the kindness chart

Not gonna lie… I’m only 4.5 years into this whole parenting gig, and I can easily say it’s already been one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had.  Each of my kids has their own “issues” (don’t we all?), but I feel as though I’m learning how to parent all over again with Mary Grace.  This little bow-headed girl has always been a feisty thing who knows what she wants and will go after it even if it means biting, hitting, or kicking her way there.  And recently, I’ve grown weary of the notes and reports from school “just letting me know” that Mary Grace has been throwing blocks at “her friends” again.  Or the screams from Carson that “AHH!  My arm!  Mary Gracey bit my arm!  Help me!”  Yes, it’s true.  My baby girl IS VIOLENT.  Alright, alright, so perhaps (hopefully? maybe?) that’s a stretch.  But still… we’re at the point now, friends, in which we can no longer blame her biting on teething and her hitting on the terrible twos.  We’ve gotta work on some impulse control up in here (said the woman who threw a hammer on the garage floor this morning after a particularly frustrating DIY project. more on that later.).

Enter The Kindness Chart.  Some kids get sticker charts for pooping on the toilet.  Mine gets stickers for not beating the crud out of innocent bystanders.  Because, my friends, that’s how we roll.

The rules: really, there are no rules.  But she gets a sticker up to several times a day for being kind and loving.  And for not following through with that swing after she had clearly raised her arm to hit her brother.  Stickers are removed for acts of aggression and general unkindness.  This is the chart on day four.  One lone sticker.  Baby steps,   y’all.

But to end on a positive note, enjoy tonight’s view of Little Miss Hot Mess herself.  She may have left me feeling defeated as a mother far too many times to count, but seriously… how can you be upset at this child for too long?