Teaching My Child by Using the Boy Scout Motto!

I have learned a new positive way to teach my son how to try harder. I have a very lazy six year-old. I am the one to blame for this. I've allowed him to be this way by doing pretty much everything for him for the last six years of his life. I am at the point though that I'm tired of constantly picking up after everyone and I really shouldn't have to anyway.

My son joined Boy Scouts this year and it has been a blessing for all of us. He's learning so much. The good thing about it is that he wants to learn! It's already making a difference in how he approaches things and he's only been doing it for a few months now. If you are not affiliated with Boy Scouts in anyway then you might not know that the Boy Scout motto is "Do Your Best." I had no idea that's what it was until just recently.

I've always tried to use positive reinforcement with my kids rather that negative. Now this doesn't always work, but most of the time it does and I prefer it that way. So my son had to learn a few things, one of them being the Boy Scout promise. This is when he also learned that the motto was "Do Your Best." Now, I'm not proud to admit this, but there has been a time or two when I have referred to my son as lazy. I was extremely frustrated and it came out of my mouth without me thinking. I know to some people it might not seem like a big deal, but I don't really like saying things like that to my children. So, we came up with the perfect solution!

As I mentioned earlier, the Boy Scout motto is "Do Your Best." Now when we ask our son to put something away or to do a chore we always ask if he did his best when he is finished. If he hasn't then he'll go back on his own and do it right and if he has he's so proud of himself. Being able to say he's done his best has made a huge difference and he enjoys the praise that he receives from it. Who knew something so little as a motto could make such a huge difference in the life of a six year old?