Peanut Work

When Kelly was a baby we attended a small branch in Georgetown, KY. There was a family in this branch that had 5 girls -- YIKES! Their kids were amazing... very well behaved and very personable. We commented all the time about how good they were. The parents, however, told us something that has stuck with us ever since. They said all girls, no matter how cute and sweet, go through the "brat" phase. After raising two little girls of our own, we have come to realize they were pretty much on target. Our girls are notorious for throwing major fits and tantrums any time we go somewhere. They are the sweetest angels at home, but as soon as we get into a public place they turn nasty. We've really been getting fed up that every time we try and do something as a family, the kids end up screaming and crying the whole time. SO, we tried just about everything we could think of. We tried spanking -- that didn't work because their immediate response is "but God said our bodies are temples and that we shouldn't hurt our bodies!" Yeah.... so that's out. We have always tried teaching them how to properly express their anger or frustration, but I don't think they cared to learn. We also tried taking away their "special" things -- Kelly has a teddy bear that she's in love with and Isabelle won't go anywhere without her princess pillow. All that seemed to do was create a bigger "freak-out" and the girls never seemed to get the message. (We tried this tactic for about 6 months and we got zero progress) We also tried taking away privileges, but gosh darn it they never cared. So one night out of complete desperation Shane and I sat down trying our hardest to think of what to do. That's when it hit me! I remembered reading somewhere that there was this one family that made their kids shell walnuts every time they got into trouble. So, we decided to make the kids shell peanuts during their precious "free time" if they acted out inappropriately. Wow.... I just want to say "wow." I can't believe how well it has worked. It will stop a tantrum in its tracks. After school Kelly only has an hour and a half of free time before she has to start doing chores and homework, so she really loves her free time. Shelling the peanuts and then cleaning up afterward takes about an hour, so she REALLY doesn't want to have to do it. It's great because it's not so bad that you feel like you're torturing them, but it still makes a big enough impact on them to keep them from wanting to do it again.


Click here to see a video of the girls "working"