Spare the rod, spoil the child

[The Grand Nudger]

First-world punishments for the elder kids:

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- One day with no computer access... stretching to one week or month or until the end of the school year, as required.
- No TV (this is impossible when you have more than one kid, as it either becomes a punishment for all or none) - I use it when they're eating and can't get their eyes of the telly... first I pause it, and if they don't finish their plates in 5 minutes, I reason that the phosphorous on the screen is getting damaged and so I turn it off.
- I haven't reached the point where my kids have their own mobile phones... but confiscation of the phone for a day, week, etc... might do wonders, specially now that these devices can do anything a computer does, specially games!

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Those all sound pretty good. Amusingly, about the "No TV" bit - that's my favorite..it's my favorite -because- it punishes them collectively for the actions of the individual. "All together or not at all" daddy always says. I want them to police themselves and each other. It's a core value I'm trying to sear into their minds positively and negatively.