"Caughtcha”

At my son-in-law’s work, his bosses have and incentive program to encourage workers to be at their best all the time. It’s called “Caught ya.’” Basically the bosses give out tickets when they see good work, extra effort, good attitude, etc. The employees then put their tickets into a drawing container. The bosses pick and choose when they want to have their “Caught ya’” day (no one ever knows when it’s going to be). But on that day there is great excitement because great prizes are handed out to those employees that have their tickets drawn.

Well, this got me thinking. Wouldn’t it be great fun to have a “Caughtcha” tradition in your family? Oh, it could really be BIG! Parents could brainstorm on what behavior, work, attitudes, goals accomplished, etc. that they wanted their children to focus on. Then, they could have another brainstorm session on prizes to be given at random drawings. These could be coupons for back rubs, an outing, a game of the child’s choice, help with a project or cleaning a room, etc. You get the idea. Even your children could submit prize coupons for things they would like to do for other members of the family that win. I guess if your budget allows, you could even purchase grand prizes of toys and games, books or art supplies, etc. Or you could have a prize bag with a coupon that gives the winning child a chance to choose from the prize bag. You would also have to decide how you wanted "Caughcha" tickets to be given—just by mom and dad. Could children suggest siblings that have done something nice? I first thought that everyone could submit tickets for their siblings but Rachael said the siblings would scheme and say, “I’ll put your name in if you’ll put my name in.” Rachael’s probably right. So, again, you can think all of these things through on your own.

I can see great benefits for this type of tradition. First, think of the service family members could give to others if they made up coupons to add to the prize box. Also, children may not get instant gratification for good behavior so they must learn patience. "Caughtcha" would get everyone focusing on the good of others. And, everyone would have something to look forward to on a regular basis. Anyway, it’s just an idea but I would love to try it if I were in that stage of life still. Oh and one more thing:

It’s “Turn off the T.V. Week.” I found a neat site to go to for more ideas for you and your family to investigate for good times together:

http://family.go.com/entertainment/pkg-tv-turnoff/