We have a big problem around here….everyone tattle’s. Constantly. I am tired of telling them over and over again to work it out among themselves so we are adopting a new policy. It’s called THINK. (yes, I made this up.) I took my basic rules for tattling (i.e. I don’t need to know about it unless someone is injuring themselves or someone else) and put them into an acronym.
THINK is a 5 step process. Once they’ve gone through each of them, then they can come to me for help. I refuse to play referee all summer long for who can watch what, had the toy first, was in that spot, etc.
Here’s how it works: Before you go to Mom, first you must THINK!
- T-tell the other person how you feel. If someone is doing something you don’t like, let them know!
- H-have you tried a compromise? Together they are more than capable of coming up with a compromise on which show to watch or how to take turns with a specific toy or game.
- I-Is someone Injured or doing something Dangerous? If the answer is YES, they can fill me in IMMEDIATELY!
- N-Now or Later? So you need mom’s help settling something…does it need to be done right. this. instant? Or can it wait until she’s done in bathroom?
- K-Keep your voice calm and your hands to yourself! when talking to the other person OR coming to me for help they should know full well by now that shouting and whining only upsets the parentals and will result in consequences for the ‘tattler’ and most likely the ‘tattlee’ will get off scott free. Same goes for hitting….if you hit when attempting to problem solve, immediate consequences.
So what do you think? Are you willing to give the THINK method a try? Do you have another method that works well in your house? I’d love to hear about it!
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