While talking over coffee, a friend told me that her daughter had to go to yellow in school. She was aghast, as her daughter had always been on green. My daughter also has the traffic light system. For those of you who may not be aware of the system, it goes a little something like this:
Green: All is well, and the child had a good day.
Yellow: A couple of re-directions, and a “Peace Time”.
Boohoo Blue: Two “Peace Times”
Red: More than two “Peace Times” or something egregious
It used to just be the three colors, but Boohoo Blue is new, and I believe that it was added for no other reason than my daughter. H is…well…difficult (See “Unto Us a Felon Is Born”). As I said, I think it was put there because of her. They probably worried about her self-esteem and the fact that her name was on Red a lot. Now most parents are horrified when their children are in Red; however, in our house, Red occurs so often, that we look at it as a common thing. In fact, we consider it a pretty good week if she is on red only twice.
Now, before we get into the issues of the traffic light system, of which there are many, I have to admit that I like having consistency, and I also like to know how the kids’ days go simply by looking at the wall and finding a red, blue, yellow, or the ever elusive green sticker next to their names. I also find comfort in the fact that there are consequences at home for the respective colors. If H is on green, she gets to watch television for thirty minutes; if she is on Yellow, then Mommy watches the news; Boohoo Blue is her room until dinner; and Red is straight to the bedroom, out for dinner, and back to her room afterward. We may be moving to no dinner, but I'm getting a lot of negative feedback about this idea.
Don’t judge the consequences. If you think that I am too harsh, come and hang out with my daughter for an hour or two. I will have your full support in less than 120 minutes, guaranteed.
What do your kids’ schools use as behavior modification? There has to be something out there that is foolproof, and since we’re not allowed to recommend to the school that they use corporal punishment on our kids (although I think that Red would be more rare, and green more common, but that’s just me), I want one that really works.
Oh, I so do not miss this. I do remember when little Sean was in Kindergarden. Every week until something like March he came home with "needs improvement." I worried and fretted until I asked the teacher why he was not doing so well. The answer was...he would not nap. This child had not napped since he was 3 and she expected him to sleep. He was quiet and wouldn't bother anyone, he just wouldn't nap. My point being, maybe you need to find out exactly what little H did that caused such a ruckus.
ReplyDeletek,
ReplyDeleteI ask every day as to the circumstances leading up to her traffic violations. Thursday was a Blue day because she ran around the room during naptime with her blanket over her head shouting "WOOOH!" a la Rick Flair.
My child is not innocent, and fortunately/unfortunately, I am well aware of her flaws.