Well, after a night of Kelly being very, very bad this morning I wake up to find Kelly's glasses are broken. Apparently she left them on the floor and Kaitlyn accidently sat on them. The right arm is completely off. She is already punished from her behavior yesterday and had her Webkinz pony taken away from her. I don't know how to punish her for this. She has to be reprimanded somehow. I now have to replace her glasses that she's only had for three months because she's irresponsible and personally I don't have the money right now (but the glasses will be replaced I have no choice). She knows that if the glasses aren't on her face they should be on her night stand. What do you think would be an apropriate punishment for a 4-1/2 year old? How do I explain to her that she needs to be more responsible?
I don't think I should respond to this one, I just had to bring my glasses in to get adjusted because I'd left them out and they got sat on...and I'm 30, not 4! :laughing:
Ok Renald - You're punished too. lol..... I am just so frustrated with her lately and this was the icing on the cake. I want to be fair but I still think that she needs some punishment. I know accidents happen but theis wouldn't have if they weren't on the floor. And, we've told her this a million times.
I've had good luck lately (and, I know, they are a bit older) sitting my boys down when we're having a hard time with them about something, and asking them to help us come up with a solution. There's still the consequence, but after that, having them think about what's going on and how we can all work to keep it from happening again, gets them involved, and for my boys, focuses their attention in a different way than just the punishment. Maybe ask Kelly what would help her remember where her glasses go. Is there a better place for them? And, eventually, when this has blown over a bit, you might try a rewards-type thing. A chart where she gets a star every night she puts the glasses in the right place, and when she has X stars, she gets to go out for ice cream/buy a book/whatever. You could even put up a little bedtime chart for her to check off things: 1.) clothes in the hamper 2.) brush teeth 3.) glasses on the stand (my boys love being able to check things off themselves). Just some ideas. Good luck! I'm sorry you are feeling frustrated. My niece wears glasses, and she is a fire cracker! I can see the same things being a problem in a couple years....I'll watch this thread and try to remember the answers for my sister
You might look into seeing if they have a warranty(or next time buy from a place that does). If anything happens to my glasses within a year they fix it for free
TabbiSue - Unfortunately the place that we go to is through my DH's optical insurance. They don't have a breakage plan and new glasses are only covered every two years. Her glasses lasted 3 months! Aghhh :angry: And, while the price is right on glasses there, their customer service stinks. Ellen - I tried sitting down with her at lunchtime. I asked her what she thinks a good solution would be. Her response, "Throw the glasses in the garbage". I explained to her how much they cost and how long they were supposed to last. She knows where her glasses belong. She has a little puppy on her nightstand that is her designated holder for her glasses. I will try the checklist for bedtime. The problem is during the day she'll take them off and not remember where she put them. Thanks got your adive though. MWS - Thanks for your advice. I don't think that my DD is old enough to get the concept of money yet though. We're trying but she seems to think that if mommy goes to the bank there will be an endless supply of money there. And, chores (with the exception of cleaning her room) she's more than willing to do anyway.
My husband always tells stories of what his parents used to do, and I think this might be appropriate? for the age?? When my husband was younger he used to ware glasses, he had lazar eye surgery a few years back. Well, his parents would make him or his siblings (they all wore glasses) be punished by looking funny. They would either tape them up, or if that wouldn't work (glasses broken beyond fixing with tape) they would buy them the cheapest, ugliest frames they could find. After showing some responsibility they got them nicer looking frames when they had the money, and save the others as back ups. He was older than yours the first time it happened to him 8, but his brother was just under 5 the first time. I know it worked on them, and they were/are always very couscous with glasses since the first time it happened. Best of luck
hopefully if the glasses are only 3 mos old they can repair them since they may have a pair just like them in the store!
MWS - Thanks for your advice. I don't think that my DD is old enough to get the concept of money yet though. We're trying but she seems to think that if mommy goes to the bank there will be an endless supply of money there. And, chores (with the exception of cleaning her room) she's more than willing to do anyway. my kids think money is chuckey cheese coins.. or pennys for their bank.. m
