$125 value in 11 year old dollars?

There's nothing wrong with it being a punishment. In economic terms, having to work and having to do something you don't like doing, and having to pay 125 bucks, are all the same thing. And it'll teach him not to make high-stakes bets if he loses.

No special chores he could do, that would require him to work hard - like, painting a shed, or cleaning the gutters, or something?

Cycloptichorn

I should have mentioned that the course of the bet will run over several months....

I'd really like it to be a "boom, pay up" sort of thing, rather than a "work off your debt" type thing.

Yes, there are special chores he does that earn him extra money (stacking firewood) and working with Mr. B on things. I suppose I could put an end date on the wager - by the time school starts -- or something like that and have some big jobs lined up.....

Honestly though it's a bet I want him to win so I'll probably throw it in his favor, but I need something that will keep him motivated through the duration.

You're a nicer mom than mine was. Mine took me for $50 during the 1991 superbowl, as a lesson to me that gambling was stupid.

She probably did make it up to me later, but I sure was pissed at myself.

Cycloptichorn

Bet him he can't ride his bike X miles per day through the summer. You can choose X. He gets in great shape for the school year and gets $125. (If he loses, then he got all that exercise for nothing.)

Actually, it is kind of weight loss challenge. He needs to lose a few pounds and doing so wouldn't hurt me either. I don't want to put him on a diet but I do want him to be more conscientious of what he's eating.

He's really athletic -- he's at golf camp while we speak, later he has baseball, then we'll probably go swimming. Even with all this activity he tends to put on weight. I don't really keep "bad" foods around the house but he's just constantly starving. I know this "starving" is pretty common for boys his age.

There is diabetes on both sides of his bio-family and I worry.

I think making it a challenge that we do together might help.

How about both of you ride X miles in the evenings. Good bonding time too. Maybe if you both succeed, you both get a reward! It looks like you already have a pretty busy schedule though.

What about just being well behaved? I use this sort of thing all the time with my wee lad. If he won't behave he won't get whatever it happens to be at the moment. Currently it's a trip to Disneyland and a visit to the Eiffel tower. After we've done that it will be something different.

It helps with everything from bed time to keeping his room tidy to not hitting his sister.

We both swim nearly every evening. Golf camp is over today and baseball is over soon. We just got him a new bike so riding would be a good addition.

Losing a few pounds would be reward enough for me!

He's already pretty well behaved.

He's a bit argumentative but I like it that way.

I don't want to set things up so that it's an ongoing battle of some sort, that would be no reward for me.

How's that broken foot coming along? It sure sounds like it isn't slowing him down one little bit.

You know, when I saw the title, I just assumed a new member wanting to know if his dollar bill bill was worth $125 because it was 11 years old.

Didn't quite fit with the "The Truth about Vietnamese Veterans" thread, but still. . . .

Right, that was my question!

Anyway, $125 ... sozlet (age 11) just meandered by and I asked her.

- Chores (big chores)
- Taking away "screen time" (TV, computer, video games)
- "Striking when he's not thinking about it." I didn't get this at first, she explained: imagine that a friend calls and asks him to join them for an awesome expedition to a water park. He asks you for permission, and you say, "Nope... because you lost the bet." That seems a little mean to me! (She says "but that one thing is worth $125, I think." "Or maybe more," she adds.)

I haven't really come up with anything better. I was thinking of some sort of positive donation of time (since he doesn't really have the money), like working at a food bank or something. BUT, I don't think it's good to link that to a punishment. (Sozlet did it recently and loved it.)

one day of organized labor.

cleaning out a flower bed and weeding, or painting the shed, etc.

something with a positive purpose behind it...

I'm agreeing with Soz and think that time in some donation work would be a good idea. Of course it's a good idea anyway.

On the food thing, there are foods that are satiating and not fattening. Too bad I can't think of any at the moment - but my point is, nutrition is a worthwhile subject if not foisted on one like a lead weight. He might not like being "chubby" either and get interested in nutrition himself if it isn't rammed as some kind of medical scripture, more like an exploration.

I too was puzzled by the thread title, but it's Boomer and she's the Mistress of Thread Titles so I went ahead and looked.. and of course, it fits.

Ha! Nothing slows him down... much.

They put him in a boot and he decided he was finished with that in about 2 days. We made him wear it for a while longer. He was slowed by it, but not by much. The doc gave him the all clear on Monday and he hasn't stopped since.

I confess to having a hard time conveying the idea in the title! I thought the tags might help explain it.

Wow. Sozlet's harsh! I don't think I'd have the heart to prevent him from doing something really fun.

The screen time thing might be a good threat. Maybe I get his x-box for the first month of school or something.....

The time donation thing is an interesting thought. Like you, the "punishment" angle gives me pause, too. Additionally, the fact that I'm the one who would have to get him there, etc. makes it not such a "win" for me. He's always enjoyed volunteer work, even mundane things like bagging beans at the food bank so I'm not sure that would be a big motivator.

I'm going to have to put my mind to the labor thing and see what I can come up with.....

Mo gains weight in the weirdest way I've ever seen. It's almost immediate.

I don't want to make a big deal out of food. I don't think kids should diet. And he really likes the way he looks -- not in a vain "I'm so beautiful" sort of way - but in the way that he's very comfortable in his own body. I hear his friends make comments about being too thin or too fat but I've never heard Mo say anything like that.