The girls have A LOT of dolls already. A LOT. But, as Ainsley points out daily, they are not American Girl dolls. Ainsley has her heart set on Julie, the "hippie one" as her daddy says. Brynn loves Molly with the birthday set. And Brooke was a big fan of the babies... well, the double stroller and potty seat mostly!
Their daddy has made it very clear that he will not be spending that much money on a doll (which would have to be 3!) He was a lot more willing to discuss it before we had 3 girls!
So, we have discussed it and come up with a plan. They can earn money to buy the doll... they earn dimes for positive behavior. Once they earn 30 dimes, they are eligible to pick out a prize. The prizes are around $5-7 usually. So, if they decide to save up their money then they can buy the doll. They also have the opportunity to earn $1 for doing extra things like picking up their rooms.
And now we have reached an all time low on bribery...
The girls won't sleep in their own beds. They start in there, but they wander into our room sometime between 1am and 4am. Ainsley is really good at just crawling to the foot of the bed so we don't even know she is there until I straighten my legs and kick her in the face!
So, we have a new game! They can earn $1 if they stay in their beds the ENTIRE night! So far they have each earned $1.
I know this is a terrible parenting tool. Nobody needs to tell me! But here is the deal- we want the kids out of our bed and they want an American Girl doll.
I have done the math and it will take them approximately 22 months to earn their money for the dolls, so they may be better off just putting them on their birthday lists! However, that won't really teach them anything will it???
And for the time being, they are "practicing" showing us that they are responsible and ready for a special doll. They have the My Generation knock-off dolls that now get a lot of special attention.
Oh, dear. ... We are putting that off as long as possible. it's times like these when I am thankful that I only have one girl. My sister has 3 girls and she has taught me to avoid it as long as possible.
ReplyDeleteThe year Sami was born they discontinued the Samantha American Girl doll. Samantha was the one I always wanted as a child too. Anyways, I bought one for her and have it hidden away until she is much older. She loves dolls right now but they all end up naked, left on the floor, some have stamps on their faces or marker on th back of their heads......obviously not ready for the American Girl doll. She got one of the bitty babies for her birthday and so far she has taken pretty good care of it, although she is still always naked. I am thinking that I will give it to her when she turns 5? Oh and as for the bribery......WHATEVER WORKS is the motto I go with. I bribe Tanner with Icee's to stay in his own bed and he is suck and Icee adict, it works, lol. Nothing makes Sami stay in her own bed except for threats, lol. We put a gate on her bedroom door that she cannot open and I threaten to shut it if she gets out of her bed. She comes down around 1 every morning and I take her potty, give her a drink and some cuddles and then tell her if she gets up the gate will shut and so far so good. I really wouldn't mind if she snuck in bed with us but for her, she does not go back to sleep when she is in our bed. She tosses and turns and talks and giggles. Anyways, whatever works:)
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