Effective negative consequences are:
- Mild: Doesn’t cause physical or emotional harm
- Kind: Doesn’t involve anger, yelling, humiliation, or threats
- Logical: Results logically from the misbehavior
- Instructive: Involves practicing the missing skill
- Understood: Agreed upon beforehand
- Simple to give and track (ex. “Chore Jar” and “Tracking Sheet”)
- Consistent: Negative behavior results in negative consequence
- Loving: Followed by a sincere expression of love
- Safe: Never violates a child’s basic human rights to food, shelter, emotional and physical safety, love, or education
Here are some examples:
Minor:
♥ Dust picture frames
♥ Dust furniture
♥ Wipe baseboards
♥ Clean door handles and light switches
♥ Scrub the shower or tub
♥ Fold clean laundry
♥ Clean kitchen appliance fronts (stove, fridge, etc.)
♥ Clean the toilets
♥ Empty the trash bins
♥ Clean the dining room or kitchen floor
♥ Vacuum floors
♥ Sweep porch
♥ 15 minutes light housekeeping
Medium:
♥ Lose 15 minutes screen time
♥ Kitchen duty after dinner
♥ No game console for a day
♥ Clean the bathroom, top to bottom
♥ Do your siblings chores today
♥ Phone must be put away for rest of day
♥ Do the family laundry
♥ Deep clean the fridge, wash all shelves
♥ Clean all the windows in the living room
♥ Clean, vacuum and wipe interior of parent’s car
♥ Pay a fine
♥ Wash out the trash cans
♥ Lose a privilege for 2 days
Major:
♥ Clean out garage
♥ Wash the windows
♥ Formal face-to-face apology to the person harmed
♥ Time out for 15 minutes (no screens)
♥ No phone for two days
♥ Not allowed to see friends for two days
♥ No going out in the evening for two days
♥ Grounded for the weekend
♥ No ride to any activity for 2 days
♥ Sweep or vacuum all the floors
♥ Favorite toys put away for two days
♥ Pay to have damage fixed
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