Coming up with effective disciplinary actions for your kids that will actually make them think twice about doing whatever it is that got them in trouble again can be challenging, but one Louisiana mom hit the nail on the head.
When her son was suspended from school for 3 days, Demetris Payne was determined to find a productive way to keep him motivated to stay on track rather than allow him a 3-day break from school. When she shared her idea to have him do yard work and other odd jobs around the neighborhood for free on Facebook, she was met with virtual praise from parents across the country.
“My son has been suspended for three days from school for discipline,” Payne wrote in the caption for the Facebook post. “He will do your lawn service, he will rake your yard, mow if you supply the mower, pick up trash, or wash your car for free. Maximum three hours. If anyone has a rake they would like to donate will be awesome.”
In additon to the now-viral original post, Payne later shared several messages on her Facebook page, providing updates on her son’s progress over the course of the three days, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The mother of 3 also revealed that she ended up having to create a schedule to accommodate all the requests she received in response to her initial post.
“He’s mowing his second yard,” Payne is heard saying in a video she shared of her son doing the yard work shortly after her first post. “Keep pushing, you got it. You’re doing good.”
She rounded out her series of updates with the good news that her son was back in school on Tuesday.
“Look who’s back at school,” she wrote. “Meeting with all his teachers and set up a plan so we can make sure he stays on track.”