What Dough You Think About Bribery?
I know you’re not supposed to parent children with bribery, but we all do it. I kind of like to think about it as if I am teaching Waylin what “if-then” statements are. Actually, there is a super cute book/movie that Waylin is obsessed with right now called, “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.” 🍪 I actually love watching that cartoon with her! Anyways, bribery goes down in the Bohlen household.
I do follow a couple of rules when it comes to bribery:
Always follow through: NEVER EVER EVER EVER promise something and not deliver. That’s not bribery, that’s manipulation.
Always make sure the behavior within the “if” statement is completed before giving what was promised after “then.”
Never make “If-then” promises on action they don’t already know how to do. I can’t say “if you go write your name, I will let you cut the lawn.” She doens’t know how to do either of those things and will likely get frustrated.
Don’t reuse “if-then” statements. I don’t want her to think she can’t do the “if” part without the “then". I shouldn’t have to bribe her every time for the same action/reaction. Instead, I like to tell her, “Remember when you let me comb your hair yesterday before we went outside? It looked so nice!”
I realize this is making me sound a little preachy on “perfect parenting.” Let me get back to my roots: The other day, I bribed her with a handful of sprinkles if she would let me give her medicine. Yep, I did that. I’m the worst. I know it. 😂
So, today was a special kind of bribery…also involving sprinkles. 🍩
We went to our first speech therapy appointment! I got the call the day before on her actual birthday that a private speech therapy business had an opening for Waylin. I have been waiting to get her into a speech therapy program since June!
The appointment was a quick consultation involving mostly paperwork, but we got to see the facility. The lobby had a bunch of toys and activities to play with, so when it was time to leave, MAN. That was a hard sell. 🤝 I had to whip out the “we can get a doughnut” card as a last resort. The speech place is conveniently located near Industrial Donut, a super cute cake donut joint!
We had a really good time sharing donuts together and coloring. This was NOT the first time I let her eat a donut by herself. We went to Bloomington to visit Krispy Kreme for a donut date back in 2018 before her 1st birthday. I don’t know if I just felt like vacuuming my ENTIRE vehicle later that day, but giving her a donut in her carseat was A MESS!
I had to share this video from last year’s donut date, because it makes me laugh and say “Aw” at the same time! I was “cheers-ing” her donut and then this happened:
I felt like such a bad mom. 🤣 I’m glad she got over it and still loves me in 2019.
Oh, and letting her eat her own donut is still messy in 2019…just in case you were wondering. #stickyeverything
Anyways, I am really excited to see where our speech therapy journey will take us! I wrote a post awhile back about my feelings when I was trying to decide if I should get her some help or if all she needed was more time. You can read it here.
I was so worried that I was making a wrong decision - whether it was in seeking therapy or by waiting it out. I can honestly say that I walked out of our first appointment with so much weight lifted off of my shoulders. She says or learns something new everyday, but I don’t think it hurts to seek some help to ensure that I am cultivating her language development in the right way. Speech therapy is not just for the child; it also teaches parents how to communicate with non-verbal children and how to create an environment where she will use words she knows to communicate with you.
I think all parents believe their children are Nobel-prized geniuses, and I don’t think a single one of them are wrong. Waylin is absolutely highly intelligent. I don’t have a doubt in my mind that she is anything otherwise. She understands EVERYTHING. We just have to show her how to express her thoughts and feelings out loud.
P.S. How adorable is she in that pink motorcycle jacket? Happy Fall, ya’ll! 🎃🍂
