In 16 years of watching General Conference with kids, I've tried a lot of tricks over the years to keep them quiet and engaged while we watch. Some of the tricks have been more successful than others, but even the best of them only seem to work for a while....maybe one session if I'm lucky.
This past weekend, though, we stooped to a new low and tried something I swore I'd never do. Well, it's not actually new new. In fact, I daresay that plenty of people have tried it before me, but it was new to us.
We bribed the kids to listen to Conference with good old fashioned....
It was a little amusing to see how, instead of running around the room, they stayed in close proximity to the candy bowls.
Eventually we had to appoint a fierce looking candy guardian to help ensure proper bribing rules were being upheld.
So even though the whole family has been floating on a sugar-high the last couple of days, and a couple of them hardly touched their dinners tonight, guess what? We'd do it again in a heartbeat, because I guarantee that my kids have never paid that close of attention to what was being said during Conference....ever!
What do you do to help your kids listen to conference? Have you ever tried the candy bribing method? If so, how did it work for your family?
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This past weekend, though, we stooped to a new low and tried something I swore I'd never do. Well, it's not actually new new. In fact, I daresay that plenty of people have tried it before me, but it was new to us.
We bribed the kids to listen to Conference with good old fashioned....
candy.
We picked two words before each session (Lord, Heavenly Father, temples, love, inspire, and eternal life) and let them each take a piece of candy every time they heard the pre-chosen word.
It was a little amusing to see how, instead of running around the room, they stayed in close proximity to the candy bowls.
Eventually we had to appoint a fierce looking candy guardian to help ensure proper bribing rules were being upheld.
What do you do to help your kids listen to conference? Have you ever tried the candy bribing method? If so, how did it work for your family?
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3 comments:
We played conference bingo and that was fun. Same concept as yours, but without the candy. I'm sure the candy would've worked even better though.
Back in the days of your youth during our sojourn in the wilderness (Minnesota) when we actually had to dress up and drive to the chapel to watch the sessions of conference, we would take you to the nearby Ponderosa Stake House between Saturday sessions or sometimes have a picnic at the Rocket Park in Anoka. These were nice little traditions, but sometimes made for sleepy afternoon session watching.
Very clever. I love that you have a security guard for the candy.
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