penkitten
Master Don Juan
There came a point in my parenting career that in order for my children to maintain good grades, keep up with a few minor household chores, and do extra curricular activities, that I made them sign contracts.
Laugh because it is a funny move, but smile because it worked.
They had to maintain those grades, take care of their hygiene and do the few chores or be forced to drop out. And dropping out meant they would have to reimburse me for the cost of that band instrument or sign up fees for ball plus whatever I shelled out of pocket for cletes and uniforms. But it included gas to every practice and game. It included payment for any volunteer ordeal I had to endure.
No grades slipped, we only saw improvement.
No one dropped out of anything. They learned not to quit anything mid-season when a team was counting on them because they gave their word to be there when they signed up.
And I have had the satisfaction of knowing my time was never wasted running from one ball field to another with a baby on my hip because all 3 of the older kids were on different fields at the same time. Each of them knew they were loved and each of them heard me cheer.