Zegel

We do have a reward system in place, which sometimes works and othertimes results in problems. At bed time we all sit down together talk for a bit. If she's had a 'good day' then she get's a star on the calendar. If she's had an exceptional day then she gets a star with a happy face. Getting a number of stars in a row equals something special, usually of her choice.

Some days it works great, and she'll try very hard to be good and get a star. Other times she'll have a bad day not get a star, which causes her to be very upset, but we just explain why try to encourage her to not have the same problem tomorrow.

As far as the fits go, we usually cut them off by letting her know that there wont be any further discussion about the matter, which causes her to get pouty for a while. If that doesnt work then she'll usually keep getting more and more upset until she ends up on a time out, which can last for quite a while because a time out is just about the worst thing imaginable in her mind and that makes her even more upset. It can be rough, but we've made a point of not giving in, which I think is the right thing to do. Or maybe not, considering that the issue keeps coming up.

She's actually fairly good at accepting disipline, it's just that nothing seems to take hold for longer than a couple hours. We'll put her on a time out for a problem one day, and she'll appologize and say that she'll try not to do it again. She'll be back to being an angel, and before long it will be like it never happened. Then it happens again. We're sticking with it, but the lack of long term results is frustrating.