I don’t know what it is like at your house at the moment – but with the weather, the end of the school year approaching, my kids fighting and their bad behaviour on the rise – it is all taking a toll on my sanity. The constant fighting is enough to send any person bonkers, but add to the mix this sleep deprived Mumma well enough said! This is where the Paper kindness chain may help our sanity and bring a little more peace back to our households! Read on to see what this chain is all about.
At school this week – good behaviour must also have been on the decline as my kids came home talking about the kindness wall – where they are putting up notes for when someone did something kind. My boys also started talking about the kindness chain which we decided to start implementing at home.
Paper Kindness Chain
The Paper kindness chain is quite simply strips of coloured paper which are stapled together in a loop. The loops are joined together to form a chain as pictured above. What is important in this whole concept is getting the kids involved and focusing and reinforcing “good behaviour”. They “earn” the strips of paper to add to the chain. One of my 4 year old sons decided to share one of his toys with his brother (without me prompting!) and he then exclaimed “we can add a kindness chain” as it was a kind gesture.
To make your kindness chain you will need:
- coloured strips of paper
- stapler
- scissors
The paper chain of kindness is great because:
- it is easy to make
- is visually appealing
- a collaborative effort that everyone can be involved in from the youngest members of the house to adults.
- it uses simple materials that everyone has at home
Positive reinforcement
It can be so easy to get caught up in disciplining and focusing on negative and bad behaviour. I know I catch myself doing it all the time. But if we sometimes slow down and catch ourselves and turn things around we can start focusing on the good and positive things which will start to have a ripple effect. Positive reinforcement is a great technique to use at home. This is when you use praise or rewards to shape your child’s behaviour – you focus on the “good”.
We will start using the kindness chain and attempting to focus on little bits of positive reinforcement in our house to try and redirect the bad whiny behaviour that is driving this Mumma bonkers lately!
Let us know if you try the kindness chain or already doing something similar in your house.
