Homework wars are wearing me out.

[BigV]

Two words:

Good. Luck.

15 is, whew, a time of considerable turbulence. I think you're on the right track by connecting his actions to his consequences. That's the way life is. But being hungry isn't a natural consequence of not doing the homework, and can seem punitive.

We found success in rewards for success. The best reward is the satisfaction of a job well done, of knowledge gained. But we managed to find an acceptable substitute in internet access, game time, phone time, going out with friends time. A strict quid pro quo. The nice thing is that none of these rewards were necessary for their well being, unlike dinner, and missing them *did* hurt them.

The hardest part was to be steadfast in the application. We strove to not waver, not be drawn into an argument, just applying the rules, without emotion. We felt emotion, you betcha. But it was "If you want to play you have to pay". Not having the homework at home equalled no homework done equalled no play. Read a book. I hated to have reading a book the "punishment", but the other pastimes were all too much like play (computer, game, phone, play outside). Sorry. Your choice, your action, your consequences.