Brilliant!

So a while back a friend of mine turned me on to the most brilliant piece of parenting weaponry ever:  the written tattle-tale.  (Now, I know many of you, dear readers, do not have children who can write just yet, so please tuck this little gem into your back pocket for future reference!  You will thank me later, I promise!!)

Back to the weapon.  So, if either of my older two have need to tattle, it now has to be in the form of a written complaint.  They write down their complaint (isn't this great?? A little bonus handwriting assignment too!), and turn it in to me.  I read said complaint (usually with much self-contained giggling) and then decide what should be done about it.  It has cut down the amount of tattling done in the castle substantially!!  It is not nearly as much fun to write down all of the terrible atrocities committed to your person, as it is to run over and immediately blab them all to your mama.  Writing them down takes some of the heat out of the mad and slows you down as you decide how to write the heinous wrong doings of a sibling.  Brilliant!!

I alluded to the other little bonus with handling tattles this way, and that is getting to read the complaints!!  This is one I received today, and I am hanging on to it! {grin}

It is a joint effort by Princess #1 and Princess #2.  It reads:

Mama, Princess #3 stole one of Princess #2's Easter candies for no reason at all. (Princess #1's handwriting.)


And she is a j-werd. (Princess #2's handwriting.)

Priceless I tell you.  Absolutely priceless.

Try it my friends.  You will like it.