The Nice-O-Meter.

There's a shortage of peacemakers in our home. One daughter, in particular, despite her many strengths is especially aggressive. And, since it takes two to tango, the others are more than willing to join her, or provoke her, or feign to ignore her when she flies off the handle. Long story short, contention has reached a level that I can no longer safely tolerate. My girls understand the principle of being Christlike and they actually desire to do what Jesus would do, but putting it into practice when tempers are flaring is easier said than done. So I decided to up the ante around here. I call it the Nice-O-Meter.



Each person (except the littlest, of course) gets her own. Each starts the day at 10. For each unkind word, each argument that dissolves into name-calling, or hitting, or tattling, they lose one point on the Nice-O-Meter. For each kind word, each time one says sorry sincerely and without being asked, each gesture of service rendered for another, they gain a point on the Nice-O-Meter. If, at the end of the day, her Nice-O-Meter registers above a 7, she earns a sticker. After 100 stickers, collectively, they will earn themselves a trampoline (something we were planning on getting soon, anyway, but this makes them feel like they earned it).

Guess what? It's working. And while it may seem like a band-aid - my hope is that they will develop and maintain some habits of resolving conflict, holding their tongues, etc. that will hold up long after the Nice-O-Meter ends up in the trash can.