"Our Family Is On The Same Page"
by Bettye

The truth of the matter is Parentpoints was like our newfound salvation for our 16- year-old who seemed not to be bothered in the least bit by her poor grades and inability to get things completed in a timely fashion.

My husband really thought that it would not work because maybe she was too old and too far gone. But, my thoughts were it is worth a try. I heard about this program on the radio and I knew Darron as a student. My first thoughts were if it works for him then it’s worth a try. I canceled out everything else that I had to do and went to see his presentation. I liked it. It was very impressive. I thought maybe, just maybe, it would help or work. I purchased parent points and took it home.

My husband was not to keen on trying it because our daughter was too old. Well, I read the manual and thought I would connect it to everything she does from school life to social activities to rewards…I mean EVERYTHING. Every year right before Christmas she gives us her big wish list – this year there would be a change. So I shared the whole concept with her about the points system and we had a mutual understanding of its purpose.

First thing she wanted was a flip phone (cell). I said “O.k., how much does it cost?” She researched and came up with a price of 275.00. Now, her goal would be to earn 2750 points by completing homework without having to be reminded, making her bed every day, washing her clothes, etc. without having to be told. No phone call before 8:30 p.m. and none after 9:30. From 9:30 to 10:30 was her ‘me’ time, where she’d get her bath and prepare for the next day. If she violated any of the rules, she would have to pay me the points I would have paid her for those things.

She was off to a right fine start until one day she had to pay me because she did not do her room and because I had to wake her up for school. My! My! that was not too, cool. The system was working for not only her but me too. I had to be on my p's and q's, too. The other thing was we built a time factor into the points she could earn and if she did not earned them within a specific time she would have to start over. To my surprise she was counting every point. Sometimes I would purposely not pay and she would remind me.

She earned her cell phone, improved her management skills, became more independent......it was worth every cent I invested. Not only that, I paid more attention to what I was holding her accountable for being responsible for as well as my self.

It was truly good for the two of us and we finally got dad to buy into it. It works out great for us. Amber is doing fine, keeps her room clean, and does the rest of her chores without me yelling and screaming. Because she earns free points for the weekend – shopping, movies, etc. – and she loves it because she does not have to beg. If she has the points, then she can use then to do the things she wants to, because we know she earned that privilege.