Building for the Future

Today's behavior blog is going to be a little different.  Instead of talking about what has worked for me and my children in the past, I want to talk about the future.

Building relationships with children not only pays dividends now; but for an indefinite time when it comes to behavior.  Once the relationships are built; it's also easier to motivate, encourage,and discipline children.  I also want to create memories for Cameron and Luke that will last forever.  This evening, I will be taking another step.

Though Cameron doesn't know it yet; he is going to have an after school surprise.  Tonight, I am going to take him to see the University of Kentucky Wildcats versus the Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball game.  This will be a huge treat and I can't wait to see the reaction on his face when he finds out. 

We won't get home until extremely late so the odds are he is going to miss school Thursday as well.  If you've read my prior blogs, you may think I have officially lost my mind.  What about routines?  What about education?  What about perfect attendance?

I have 5th row seats and could have taken anybody to this game.  I chose Cameron because of all he's done and all the dividends it will pay.  He's more than earned the right to break free of the routine for one evening.  I'm not worried  about him missing school because he's approximately two years above grade level.  As far as perfect attendance, that was never my goal.  My goal is for Cameron to be as bright as possible and look back on his childhood with the fondest of memories.   

I think we can agree that Cameron will have a super time with me at the game.  These "moment builders" will pay off as they always have.  Because I occasionally take him to these surprise events; do you realize how easy it is for me to get him to sit down and do extra homework?  It's one thing for me to "force" him to do it but it's another for him to have full cooperation.  Part of the reason he works so hard for me is because of what I do for him.  He loves and trusts me.  Cameron knows there will be times I am hard on him; but there are also times he will have rewards out of the blue.  That's one of my tricks:  I keep him guessing.

Knowing me, I probably won't tell him at all.  One of my favorite ploys is to tell him to "go get ready" out of the blue.  When he asks, "for what?" I give him a small smirk and repeat my direction.  I doubt if he will find out where he is going until he sees the marquee in front of the stadium.

When the night is done and both of us recover, Cameron will go back to his routines.  We will continue to build his mind and body to the best of our abilities.  For one night though, he'll have a large Sprite, a tub of popcorn, and yell with all he's got, "Go Big Blue."

With all the discipline and structure for children this blog provides, I want you to know there's nothing wrong with doing things out of the ordinary.  I'd encourage all of you to do something a bit different with your kids over the next few days.  If you can surprise them with the event, that's even better!  Check your local newspaper.  There's always something going on.

Can't wait for you to check in for a free for all Friday.  I have a story about a parent who asked me a question about her out of control child.  Little did I know how a few minutes of my time would impact a person I''ll probably never meet.  With all the success/curiosity this blog has generated, one mom's story continues to make this journey incredibly worthwhile.

All the best!!!