It is interesting how writing things down makes a change more likely. This goes for chores around the house, weight loss, even changing behavior. We have some sibling interactions that need tweaking around here. I am always good at talking to the kids about what needs to change, but we don’t always get around to making a game plan.

Today, after an incident between two of the kids, I had a talk with them, and had them own their responsibility in the disagreement. But it wasn’t really enough. More needed to happen. I was talking to one of them, and we came upon the idea of having a contract of behavior change with a reward at the end — a dog! It will require 60 straight days of the new behavior.

Here is a snippet of the contract that she crafted with her usual adorable sense of humor.

This will be very difficult to achieve. But she really does want a dog. And this could change our lives around here. We haven’t come up with the reward for the other one involved in the disputes. But we are working on it. Thinking outside the box sometimes is the only way to make a real change.

Change is beautiful. Especially when it brings us closer together. I already noticed both the girls involved in the contracts and changes were more generous to other members of the family tonight. I hope I can keep mothering creatively to help love grow and unity increase.