There's a new kind of fun and calm out there in
name of Better Behavior Wheel, invented by Julie Butler and her family in central British Columbia. In an interesting twist on charts and discipline, this versatile wheel can be hung on a wall or toted with you in car and on vacations.It's a way to get whole family involvement, and a little bit of humor to get us over discipline bumps. Kayla Fay, publisher of Who Put Ketchup in Medicine Cabinet? says, "This is proverbial spoonful of sugar to help medicine go down! Only a loving parent could come up with such an effective way to discipline children."
As Wheel Turns
Originally, wheel sprang from constant battles between Julie's 9- and 12-year-old children, David and Laura. With battles raging in their home, Julie and her husband decided they must find some way to keep peace. Julie says, "We hated atmosphere of tension that would invariably follow these exchanges. Our once happy home was being turned into a war zone, and it felt like there were land mines scattered beneath our feet. One night, in desperation, we called kids into living room and told them how upsetting their behavior was. We asked them for suggestions on how we could restore peace and serenity back into family."
The kids were sent to their room to come up with at least six appropriate consequences for their next fight. David and Laura presented family with consequences like:
Clean other person's room Do dishes for other person Make other person's bed for a week Lend your favorite CD or game to other person for a week Make a list of ten good things about other person Hug and make up….
These suggestions were arranged around perimeter of a board, and a spinner attached to middle. The premise was that spinner would choose consequence for them, and they would hang board in plain view in kitchen. Julie remembers, "We crossed our fingers, and waited. And waited. It was amazing. Just presence of board, hanging on our kitchen wall, had an instant calming effect on atmosphere in our home. Occasionally we'd see one of kids standing in front of board, idly flicking spinner, checking it out. But fighting had stopped."
Of course, battle was won, but not war. Ten days later, fighting began again, but this time they were prepared. Says Julie, "We called them both into kitchen, took board down off wall, and placed it on table. They knew what they had to do. How could they refuse? They chose consequences. They practically invented board. It landed on most dreaded consequence of all: Hug and make up!"
Once fighting subsided, Julie realized there were other behaviors she also wished to curb. "It seemed like kids were always leaving lights on when they left a room. Or they'd leave TV on when they went to bed. Why not make another wheel with consequences related to wasting electricity?"
Eventually, eight themes were added:
Excessive Arguing Leaving Lights On Not Putting Things Away A Job Poorly Done Stretching Truth Taking Without Asking Talking Back Wheel of Just Desserts (rewards)
Forty-eight consequences and 16 rewards are printed on peel-and-stick paper with colorful eye-catching graphics, enabling parents to customize wheel to meet their family's needs. Just cut them out and stick them on. It's very easy to make up your own consequences and themes.
