I am the meanest mother ever.

[Anonymous]

My child also responds well to fines and incentives. $$ is what gets his attention. I think this is totally fine, especially for second grade.

[Anonymous]

I think you're being pretty generous - imagine what it would cost him if you forced him to call a cab!

[Anonymous]

If you're the meanest mom in the world, I'll cop to being at least the second meanest. When our kids were younger we docked them for leaving on lights, then contributed the money we collected to an environmental group of their choice. They're teens and tweens now, and no longer leave the lights on when the leave a room, but they do still tell us we're the meanest parents in the world for all kinds of other "offenses" -- e.g., we call parents of kids hosting a party for teens to be sure that they'll be home to supervise. This usually goes on until they discover that other parents do exactly the same thing and more! Our oldest has actually said to us, "I used to think you guys were bad, but X's parents are really crazy strict!" More power to you, OP, you get it that, as my own parents used to say, "I'm your friend, but I'm not in a popularity contest."

[Anonymous]

I read this idea in a book somewhere -- if your school aged child fails to do his assigned chores (say, setting the table or cleaning his room) then you need to hire someone else to do it. So you dock his allowance and pay it to yourself. Or better yet, pay it to a sibling, for taking over the chore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:...because I now charge my son (a second grader) $1 every time he misses the bus and I drive him to school.

Seriously, I was at the end of my rope. Seems to be working, but, man, I feel like an ass.

You are using what you need to in order to teach him responsibility. If that makes you an ass then more parents need to be asses.

Good job!

[Anonymous]

We take away TV for two weeks if DC misses the bus. It has happened three times so far this school year, including once this week. The loss of screen time makes an impression.

[Anonymous]

It's about time you found a good strategy - who doesn't want to get driven to school?

Since the second week of kindergarten, every time my son missed the bus, he's had to go to bed extra early (extra meaning "very").

Doesn't matter what you do as long as missing the bus is way more painful than taking the bus.