Tomato Staking

My plan for next week is to be glued to my children and train them. Where ever I am, they will be. Whatever I’m doing, they will be doing. If I have to change Nate’s diaper, they will throw it away and help put away the wipes. It’s going to be intense training, but I have a feeling it will also be fun…

So I mentioned this on a message board I’m on and a friend explained that this has a name, “Tomato Staking.” Everything has a name now-a-days, doesn’t it? I read a bit about it, and although I don’t agree with it as a lifestyle, I do agree with it as a training method.

The idea is that you are acting pro-actively to train rather than re-actively. If Abby spills water in the kitchen and I see it much later, I have to find out who spilled the water and then ask her to clean it up. If I’m right there, I can instruct her to clean her messes up right away. If Katie gets a band-aid out and leaves a mess all over the floor, I can train immediately if I’m around.

Now, I know I can’t be with my children all the time, but I’m hoping that a week of this will help establish good habits, like putting away jammies right away and wiping the toothpaste out of the sink. Maybe it will take more than a week, but nonetheless, I’m giving it a shot because something needs to be done.

And actually, after a week of together-ness, we might actually find that we like it. I’ll let you know how it goes!