Nicholas' attitude has been creeping up as of late and getting really bad in the last week so we have started an intervention before these patterns of speech and interactions can become habit. And in grasping around for an idea for an intervention, I decided to make up something baseball themed to get him interested.
The reward system: every time we catch him doing something extra good or he gets ready in the morning or evening without any fuss he gets to move forward a base. If he scores a run before the end of the day he gets dessert that night.
The punishment system: three strikes and you're out. The consequence for an out will vary but he has been warned to assume that it will be bad and know that they will get worse and worse.
We will see if we can break these habits. I'll let you know. I tend to be good for about 2 days before letting things slide. But the talking back is making me crazy, so maybe I'll have the incentive to stay strong.
But, lest I leave you with the impression that this attitude is a full-time thing, Nicholas has also been having some super sweet moments. Most endearingly, he has started putting Lizzie to bed. Seriously. He does everything except lift her into her crib. They snuggle in her rocking chair and he reads her her book. Then he turns off her light and sings her "Twinkle Twinkle," which has been her goodnight song forever. Then I lift her in and he says the "Good night, Lizzie. We love you." and closes her door. Melt. My. Heart.
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