It was Thursday morning of last week and I woke up and explained the system to TomTom from one end to another. He had already woken up and brushed his teeth before I explained it to him so I figured I would test him on his lying about completing a task. I asked him if he brushed his teeth for one minute and used his mouth wash – again, I knew he didn’t but was testing him – he said he did. I asked him if he was sure about this and reminded him that lying was worth 80 checks. He continued to insist he did. Well, that was a lie. I explained to him how I knew it was a lie because he hadn’t seen the checklist when he brushed his teeth. I witnessed him brush his teeth in my bathroom and it took him about 20 seconds from start to finish and there was no mouth wash involved – he made it to (–80) checks at that point.
He also wore his robe outside to let the dog out. I HATE when he does this. He goes outside in his underwear and a robe because he sees my old lady neighbor in her robe and thinks it is ok. I feel it is an open invitation for a Chester-the-molester and have repeatedly asked him to put on his uniform before he lets the dog out. Because he wore his robe outside he didn’t get credit for letting the dog out. Yes, I was being strict about the checks, but the “I wish I could stab you” was still fresh in my memory.
There were two other things that I had checked on and he did not complete, however he was telling me he did complete them. Because he lied he made it to (–240) at that point and I asked him if he thought he was going to lie again. I got a head movement from side to side and a “nah-uh”. I held my hand up to my ear and asked “What was that?” After getting his sound version of “no” and repeating my “What was that?” question, he finally got the point and said “No ma’am.”
In the car on the way to school we went over the bonus check list. Things he could put effort into to gain checks that took minimal effort. One of my pet peeves is when the teachers open the car door for him they say “Good Morning” and I usually respond as TomTom wanders off to the cafeteria without acknowledging them. I reminded him if he responded to the teacher with a “Good Morning” and “Thank you and you have a good day too” he could easily earn a check. Low and behold when he opened the door and the teacher said good morning I heard him say loud and clear “Good Morning” as he walked off to the cafeteria. Hallelujah! This might actually work!
There were a few other instances on day one when he wanted to give me some explanation or excuse as to why he did or did not do something the way it was listed on the check list. I ignored his talking and reminded him that he was punished. He had no opinion. The only response he was allowed was yes or no ma’am to me and action when I spoke to him.
I also explained to my parents what happened so they would follow through with the punishment when he got off the bus at their house. There was no TV, no computer, just homework and then they would drop him off at my house. If for any reason my father (who enables TomTom to do whatever he wants) had an issue with the punishment, my mother was to pack TomTom up in her car and bring him directly to me. Neither one of them had an issue with it when I explained to them what happened at baseball practice.
By the end of this day we were both tired. He was in his bed and I told him to call for me when he was ready to be tucked in. 20 minutes later I went into his room and he was writing a note. I told him he did not listen to my request so I subtracted 10 more checks. He said he didn’t hear me – which was bull crap – and told him if he had any questions in the future about what he should be doing he simply needs to ask me.
End of the day tally – he was at (–250). He completed about 25 items on the check list.
Final total = (–225).
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