Incentives and Attitude Adjustments

Oliver is a smart kid, but he doesn't really like school for the social aspects. All his best buddies go to different schools in town. He likes to read (not exactly a cool thing for a boy these days ...).

So I started offering him an "Oliva-Dolla" to tell me at least 1 good thing about school each day. My husband set up a program whereby Oliver can earn Oliva-Dollas for good behavior and doing his chores without being told. He can earn the O-D's with his attitude. There's an exchange rate, too. 1 OD=20 cents. 5 ODs can be exchanged for $1. It's a good system.

The first day, he really had to search for something good to say.

He catches on fast. The second day, he had 5 good things to say about school. That =5 Oliva-Dollas with an exchange rate of 20 cents per OD. He made $1 on that deal. Money is the incentive that moves him these days. And if that can change his attitude about school, it's worth $1 to me.

It's no surprise that with a cash-strapped economy, I don't exactly look forward to going to work most days now. My area is not revenue-generating and so we seem to be considered a liability by the bean-counters and even my own supervisor. Every day is a struggle. Oliver seems to understand that I'm not happy about the situation, so he turned the question on me : "Mumma, Name 1 good thing about work today."

I don't get Oliva-Dollas for the 1-good-thing about my work day. I do get a cheerier kid, though. Usually, the 1-good-thing is that I get to go home to a sweet and loving family. But that still makes for a LONG work day. Sigh!

World AIDS Day - What can a 7yo do? [or Planting the Seeds for Making a Difference]

I know I'm late with this one. December 1 is long past ... but the fight for awareness and a cure for AIDS goes on all year.

We've been watching RENT. I got the DVD and soundtrack for Christmas. Oliver really likes some of the songs, too--especially "Rent."

At 7-1/2 years old, the story is a little above his head [rated PG-13]. He hasn't seen the whole thing yet, but he plays the first 3 songs over and over and over. And we play the parts for the different characters--it's fun!

This weekend, he was asking about the characters and what happens to them (he still hasn't seen the whole thing). We started to explain HIV/AIDS, that some of the characters had this disease that knocks out their immune systems ... 1 character died ; 1 was sick at the end ; a few others had it, but were not sick. The rest of the group didn't have it.

Oliver would ask during the opening credits while they are all on stage singing "Seasons of Love," "Does he have it? ... What about him?"

Later, after supper, Oliver seemed pretty glum and quiet. He was working things out ... When he went to bed, the story he told Papa was about going to the rain forest to find a cure for AIDS. He talked with the local people and found "a red flower with an orange root." He brought home some of the seeds and grew them in greenhouses, and developed it into a drug to cure AIDS. Then the President of the United States gave him a gold medal, dinner in a nice restaraunt, and lots of money ...

I told him that if he could find a cure for AIDS, it would help millions of people in this world--not just the people who are sick with it, but their families and friends, too. He would be a hero.

I am pleased we are raising a kid with compassion for humanity. He doesn't know about "gay plagues" and the hate that has dogged people with AIDS. He sees the characters in RENT as people he likes, and he worries about them enough to want to find a cure for AIDS. WOW! Rent IS a powerful musical.

Maybe everyone should see it?

Get more information on World AIDS Day here and here.