As Easter approaches, we have once again given Cameron a bean bowl. When he does something good, he is rewarded with a bean -- this year we went with navy beans. On Easter, the Easter Bunny exchanges all the navy beans for jelly beans. We had found the bean bowl to be extremely motivational for a preschooler.
For the past several days, Cameron has made his bed without prompting, put his clothes in the laundry basket and generally been quite helpful. He even told me his favorite part of the day was "cleaning my room so I get more beans." So, yesterday afternoon, I was changing Matthew's diaper. It happened to be a dirty diaper and it also happened to be a disposable diaper as all the cloth dipes were in the washer. Cameron walked in mid-change and commented "Ewwww!"
"Hey Cameron," I teased, "throw this dirty diaper in the trash for me, OK?"
"No WAY!" he answered.
"You'll get a bean," I said.
"I wouldn't touch a dirty diaper for A MILLION beans!"
"Ohhh, too bad," I replied. "Throwing away a dirty diaper is worth 47 beans."
Now, I just threw this number out randomly, without really thinking. I honestly didn't think that Cameron would touch that diaper for any number of beans.
"Disgusting," Cameron commented and left the room. A few minutes later, as I was finished up, Cameron walked back in the room. He had a look of resignation on his face and he was holding a piece of paper. He walked swiftly to the dirty diaper, used the paper to pick it up, and held it out far from his body. "Ugh!" he cried, as he ran to the garage to put the diaper in the trash. "Oh, I am NEVER doing that again!" He washed his hands vigorously. "It felt all SQUISHY! I need my 47 beans. Right? I get 47 beans, right Mommy? I am not EVER touching a diaper again until I am a GROWN-UP!"
He's excited by the rapid growth of his bean fund, but I think he is still questioning if it was worth it.
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4 comments:
Oooh... don't tell Alex that taking out a dirty diaper is worth 47 beans!! He has to do that as part of his chores (granted, they are wrapped in plastic bags, but still!). Great idea, though... we may have to get a bean bowl.
Love it!!
I'll never forget the first time my stepdaughter offered (YES- offered!) to change Cedar's diaper!! It was a huge moment. And though she rarely if ever actually changed his diaper-that one time was one less I had to do! Hey- we'll take whatever help we can get, right:)
Love your blog!
I have been reading your blog and I am always cracking up! I am a soon to be first time parent through adoption. I just know that I will be doing the same things...thanks for sharing!
Christine -- poor Alex. Cameron would positively faint if his chores included poopy diaper duty.
Amanda -- Wow, what I would give for an extra pair of willing hands for diaper changes around here!
Mandy -- Thanks so much for leaving a comment! Best of luck on your adoption journey!
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