Lisa Whelchel: Bribery Will Get You Everywhere

I'm all about motivating your kids to do what you want/need them to do. I call them incentives, but you can call them bribes if you want. It works.

When Tucker was 10 years old, he wanted a big Lego kit—it was one that built a pirate ship. Well, those things are really expensive and I was like, "I'm not spending 100 bucks on something that he can put together in an afternoon! No way!"

But I went ahead and bought him the pirate kit and told him he could open it up for his birthday and after that he'd have to earn 10 pieces at a time. He had opportunities to earn them throughout the day. For instance, if he did something without me having to ask him several times, he could put together the next 10 pieces. Or if he put his clothes in the hamper rather than leaving them, he could earn another 10 pieces. It took him almost a month, but he did earn all the pieces to put it together. And he not only put it together, he built a character trait of self-discipline while he was at it. That's what I call internal motivation!

I've written a book called Creative Correction and it's about ways to discipline beyond time-outs, spanking and yelling. I'm all about motivating your kids to do what you want/need them to do.

Besides being a mom, Lisa Welchel is best known for her role as Blair on the TV show The Facts of Life.