Courageous Joy

PLAY STATION – WooHOO!

Zander has earned 30 – 60 minutes of Play Station time. I really thought and prayed about how to handle this after posting about last Saturday’s obsession.

I think it is fine for him to play for a reasonable amount of time 2 times a week. On the trip, when we were giving him tickets to teach him instant obedience, he earned 20 tickets a day. I set his goal at 60 tickets for 30 – 60 minutes of play time (others play with him). He has been GOOD and done what I asked, but it took him all week to earn the 60. We may lower it so that he earns it in 3 days.

In praying about this I wanted to be sure the tickets were not punitive. I was aiming for reality discipline/training. The things that earn him tickets are the things that he “slides” from when he’s “off program”. In this way, when he’s having a good day and can HANDLE the PS he has earned it…and if he’s having a bad time, he won’t be able to handle the screen time and he doesn’t earn it.

I don’t give him many tickets any longer for instant obedience. He really has that down. I do give him tickets for making his bed, getting dressed and KEEPING his clothes on all day, brushing his teeth, cleaning his room….etc. You know – those “social things”. An unexpected benefit of this is that he has kept his clothes ON every day ALL week. He has a sensory thing and really has trouble with clothes.

Here Zander shows off his tickets!

I thought it was cool that Josiah came up with the idea of copying the tickets on to sheets of paper. Then we only have to glue a ticket on, he doesn’t loose them, and we can all watch his progression.


Arielle and Nolan are currently earning tickets towards a BIG prize. When they earn 500 tickets Arielle will get a Kit Doll and Nolan will get a robotic dinosaur. They get tickets for eating fruits and vegetables and for trying a new dish. {G} At this rate it looks like it will take them far over a year to earn their goals…an apple a day. :::snort::: I really thought they could do it in 3 months.

Now for those of you who think we are bribing the kids….I disagree. We are training them. I LOVE this. Within one week Zander was obeying instantly and didn’t need tickets any longer for that. Yes, he still has “days” but we deal with it. We also noticed that he DID obey a lot during the day….giving him a ticket for good behavior instead of watching for bad behavior changed the atmosphere of our home for the better. LOL I don’t know, the food one is more like bribing…..but it was a price we are willing to pay…and their choices will determine how long it takes them to reach their dream…so it is still reality discipline/training….