Move Your Button...

We are the owners of a PS2... only for the purpose of playing the oh so awesome Rock Band game. :)  We are not really advocates of gaming systems or computer games for our kids... the average kid spends 7 hours a day in front of an electronic device!  7 HOURS A DAY!  Holy cow!  Anyway, so we figured to avoid that problem, and the whining and fighting that comes with it, we have never bought any other games for the system.... until now.  Patrick recently came home with a game for each of the boys, Legos Star Wars for Jackson and Cars for Harrison.  ....And the whining and begging began.  So, I thought, how can we use this to our advantage? ;) Enter the Minute Charts... and the Buttons.

The boys each have their own chart and can earn up to an hour and a half a week.  They have 3 opportunities to earn minutes a day, aka move their button.  They get to move it for good behavior (Jackson gets to move his based on his behavior at school), for eating their dinner (which has done WONDERS for Jackson's appetite) and for doing a random act of service/kindness for someone that day without being asked.  They earn minutes all week and then they can use them on Friday and/or Saturday.  They also lose minutes for doing things that are not acceptable.  And I have to say, I LOVE how well this is working for us so far!  ....Harrison would rather play on the computer (Playhouse Disney), the PS is a little hard for him still.  But Jackson, and obviously Patrick too, really get into the Star Wars game.  :)  I guess it's not all bad, they are having fun together.

It all just freaks me out a little.  They seem WAY too young to be this interested in this stuff!  We just didn't have this problem when we were kids!  We played outside and used our imaginations and road bikes... and I would hate to see them lose interest in that stuff too soon!  Am I crazy??  ...But like I said, for now, this system seems to really be working for us!  So I'm happy!  :)