Bribery

Lately we have been having a real problem with putting Daniel down for his nap. I wouldn't mind if he didn't sleep, as long as he was quiet. But he doesn't seem to do very well at that and his noise wakes up Amelija earlier than she would otherwise wake up.

One friend of mine said she would spank her boy if he were disturbing the others- they live in a very small flat and it is essential each person respect the other's sleeping time. We tried that, but it didn't work.

I have felt really helpless and have prayed a lot.

Dr. Dobson condones both spanking (corporal punishment) and bribery. He says that we all work to get paid and that is not bribery, and that parents can do the same with their kids. So yesterday I decided to try a new technique.  I told Daniel that if he was quiet and took a nap he could have a cookie and a piece of chocolate when he got up (we give these sparingly). And it seemed to have worked like a dream. He fell asleep fast and did not need any reprimanding. I was skeptical, assuming he was also worn out from our morning walk. But today we did the same thing, and he fell asleep again.

Wow, this bribe- or "salary"- that is a reward for good behavior seems to be working very well.

What do you Moms do to get your kids to go to bed? Do you ever "bribe" or reward your kids like that? What have the results been?