Motivate with A Mystery Box

I have 3 boys and 2 of them are really close in age. I always thought it would be so fun... they would have a playmate all the time. As they started to get older I realized that I had to do something before I pulled my hair out! They fight and fight then have loads of fun followed by another fight. It is very exhausting always telling them to stop fighting or having to send them to their rooms.

After visiting with my sister I made a Mystery box. The name alone makes my boys want to participate!

My mystery box stays hidden and only comes out when there has been minimal or no fighting that day. The kids love to wonder what will be inside and it is its own motivator for good behavior. The fun part for me is choosing what goes inside. Sometimes it is a prize such as tickets to the dollar theater or something else they want, but often times I just put funny stuff in like old bananas or dirty socks. It makes for a good laugh and the kids never know what to expect so it keeps the excitement alive.

Mystery box content ideas:
- movie tickets

- candy

- silly bands

- random household items

- roll of toilet paper

- old toothbrushes

- book to read aloud

- coupons for one free room cleaning

- coupons for them to do a certain chore (dust, wipe floorboards, mirrors, sweep porch, straighten books)

- socks to be matched

- gum

- fruit

- random objects with a note for them to use the objects to build a sculpture of some sort

- riddles

- jokes

Remember how fast kids grow up and enjoy them  the short time we have them.