Friday, June 10, 2011

Life Lessons...

My 7 year old, Aiden,threw his retainer away along with his lunch trash at school.  After calling his dad to school, they searched through a couple of likely garbage bags to no avail...the retainer was gone.  I had been prepared for this, frankly I was surprised it hadn't happened sooner.

We explained to Aiden that a replacement retainer would cost $100 and asked how he wanted to pay for it.  After a short conversation, it was decided that we would hold his ipod as collateral, until he did $100 worth of jobs.  {He's 7...the $100 worth of jobs was enough that he felt he worked hard, and was inconvenienced by the chores but not so much that child labor laws were violated!}  After a visit to the orthodontist, a new retainer was back in his mouth a week later.

Aiden lost his retainer again...two days after he got the new one.  My husband texted me at work and I asked him to refrain from death and/or dismemberment until I got home.  Ugh...we did everything right the first time...seriously what are we going to do now?  The first conversation was something like, "Aiden, we're pretty angry this time so you'll have to wait until we have an idea of how you can pay for a second retainer..." {there might have been some yelling...}he stewed for quite a while.

Since the ipod was still on the top of the refrigerator as collateral for the first thrown away retainer, we decided that the price for the second thrown away retainer was a month of grounding from technology.  No TV, no computer, no ipod, no video games...no technology unless it was directly related to learning at school.  It...was...a...long...month...for...all...of...us!

Now, however, the jobs have been completed...technology has been reinstated...and Aiden has a new habit.  He must always wear shorts or pants that have a pocket, so that he can carry a retainer case.  His retainer doesn't come out of his mouth unless he has a case to put it in.  We even got permission from the orthodontist for Aiden to eat with it in his mouth should the need arise.

Life lessons for all of us!
New habits...
I shared this post on Weekend Bloggy Reading with Amanda at Serenity Now...go visit the party!
Weekend Bloggy Reading

1 comment:

  1. What a bummer, but I guess it was a mixed blessing for him to learn about responsibility! Hope it sticks this time. :)

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