Breakfast // Overnight oats with cottage cheese, granola, and almond butter
Lunch // Grits bowl with fried egg, kale, and sriracha!
Dinner // Salmon with leftover mac and cheese and a side salad with peppers and Caesar dressing
Good Manners
I was Googling “good behavior videos for kids” and stumbled upon the House Fairy program. The creator – Pam – has tons of content for kids and adults. In the House Fairy series, she dresses up as at the House Fairy in a collection of videos where she talks to your child about good manners, tidying up, behavior, and Fairyland. There are also letters from the House Fairy and rewards (Fairy dollars) you can print out. The premise of the program is that it takes the bossiness out of mom and puts the House Fairy in charge of the rules, so enforcing them is easier to do. So far it’s working well!
At first I didn’t know if Mazen would respond or just roll his eyes, so there is a 2 minute “test” video where the House Fairy asks the child to go pick up five things in their room. We watched the video together, and Mazen RAN to clean his room. He tidied up so much more than just five things. I took that as a sign and bought the whole program for $15.
On days when he makes his bed, gets dressed on his own, and has nice manners all day, the House Fairy comes that night with a tiny little treat. Sometimes it’s just a letter, maybe a dollar for his wallet, maybe some Pez. (The House Fairy loves the tiny pez blocks because they fit perfectly in her tiny hands). I just ordered some of these little fairyland trinkets to leave under his pillow and some fairy glitter! I found the materials to be a bit overwhelming at first because they aren’t organized very well, but you can really just watch the videos together and do your own thing.
This is probably one of those programs that Mazen will lose interest in with time, but it’s working now and that’s all I care about! He made his bed and got dressed on his own two days in a row! We watch one video a day to stretch them out, so I’m curious to see if some of the behavior ones have any real lasting impact. He seems to really respect the House Fairy’s opinion! 🙂
And finally, some good manners for you grown ups! I LOVE JP Sears, and this video had me in stitches. Especially the part about texting before you call and not ever leaving a voicemail! Those are for real y’all.
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
Nice to see Mazen practicing good manners from a young age! Definitely going to become one gentleman! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Mom says
Love the House Fairy. I wonder if she could influence grandfathers…
Tonya says
“I didn’t know if Mazen would respond or just roll his eyes” –GASP! Not the baby! The baby isn’t at this stage yet is he?? LOL! they grow up so fast.
This sounds SO cute! Maybe by the time he has had enough of the House Fairy at least a few habits will have stuck!
about to watch the JP Spears vid. He is hilarious.
Hampton says
I am curious about this House Fairy, as I too have a 5 year old who struggles with getting ready in the morning, picking up after herself, whining, etc. When Mazen is consistently making good choices on his own, will you still reward him? I like this system, i just don’t know if I want to continue rewarding my daughter forever for things that she, let’s face it, should really be doing without incentive 🙂
The other question I have is will Mazen also have the House Fairy at Matt’s? I think I’d have to get my daughter’s dad on board for this to really work.
KathEats says
I knew I wouldn’t be able to maintain real gifts every night, so she often just leaves a good behavior ticket or a little note, and the surprises are truly surprises and only on occasion. I have no idea what the long-term of this might be, but I think like most parenting strategies it will wear off in time and we’ll move onto something new. I think the whole “he should be doing this anyway” thought is great in concept, but enforcing that has only resulted in battles of two strong willed people, so I knew I had to do something that would inspire him to want to help out more on his OWN instead of me telling him what to do. Every child is so different; To each their own!
NWA Plumber says
LOL! JP Spears is always hilarious!
Linda @ the Fitty says
I’m in love with these photos! Do you Instagram some of then? How do you select which ones?
sarah says
This video had me laughing out loud! Which just so happens to be one of my new year’s resolutions 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
KathEats says
: )
Talar says
Random question about the overnight oats – do you use the cottage cheese as a topping or as a replacement for the yogurt? I
KathEats says
A replacement!
Talar says
Great thanks, I’ll have to try that!
Laura says
I’m 100% NOT hating (I have a 1 and 3.25 year old and know I haven’t been through it all yet… ha!), but I kind of feel like part of me is thinking that my kids should simply respect me and my directions enough to do basic chores, cooperate, etc. And as tough as it is with a threenager, it’ll be harder with a TEENager to teach them to respect and listen to their parents. Thoughts? Again, not intending this to be a hateful comment, just more curious on yours/others’ thoughts on this.
KathEats says
I totally don’t disagree with you, but I just haven’t been able to get Mazen motivated on his own with “you belong to this household” or “because I want you to” reasoning. I have tried! It would be GREAT if he wanted to do everything I asked out of the goodness of his heart, but that’s just not how he is (or most of the five year olds I know are, I suppose). He is very goal/reward oriented. But then again, so am I. Most adults don’t expect to go to work without getting paid, so I don’t think there is too much harm in doing a reward-based system for him to do things that aren’t the most fun. Plus the House Fairy is cute and fun for us both. I think when he’s older – teenager level – and can understand more of the reasoning behind being a cooperating member of the household we might have different expectations.
Susannah says
What do you get for the $15 price? Are there links to the videos? Is new content posted regularly, or is there a library of videos to choose from? Are prizes included?
I remember my mother and aunts talking about fairies in the house, but they were mischievous.
KathEats says
You get access to all of the videos (maybe 30-40) and the printed materials. No new content, no prizes. The videos are pretty much what you’re paying for, and they are good for reinforcement.
vicki says
Kath… You are so right that ‘to each their own’. I have a fairly cooperative six year old boy and a very spirited four year old girl. I use whatever works at the time for our family and our circumstances. I don’t think as parents we ever hit on the perfect technique…..have a variety at your disposal and do what’s good for your family.
The House Fairy sounds cute and if it works keep going until it doesn’t. Then try something else.
KathEats says
: )