Contracts

We decided to be super awful parents and make our girls sign an Electronics Contract.  Basically, we sat down together and laid out some terms for use of screens .. .. .. cuz frankly I was becoming disheartened at the amount of time that was being wasted on them {by all of us}. And because we are just mean like that:)  Our goal {and by "our" I really mean "my"} is to be more deliberate and accountable about when and what we are using them for. I'm not naive about electronics ....I mean they are here to stay and they can be wonderful tools. I just was beginning to notice that we were becoming reliant on them for entertainment and I didn't like it. Mark thought it would be a good idea if the girls each wrote their own contract (same terms) rather than us just giving them a copy to sign. I think he was right. It gives them a feeling of ownership and they were able to give input as we went along. The contract is only valid through the first of April and then we will reevaluate and revise if needed. I had to laugh at the difference in contracts. Bailee just could not believe that we were making her sign a contract. I mean seriously she is 15! We reminded her that signing a contract is actually a very grown up thing to do and that she will sign many in her adult life. I love how she added "any violations you will be SEVERELY punished!!" .. .. .. because we are all about severe punishment around here;)

Kars signed her name as tiny as she possibly could at the bottom so as to not take too much ownership of it. I guess it comes in handy when you can plead ignorance.

And Emmrey who loves any sort of system, just wanted to make sure she could decorate her "Divice" {device} contract with colorful art.

 So far it has been pretty great. It is a work in progress, but it has made us all give a little more thought to how we are using our time:)