should i let my son off his grounding early?

Question

is currently grounded for awhile coz im just sick of his behaviour
but lately ive seen a change in him
he hasnt been rude to me or my husband lately
and hes been helping out a lot more around the house
he hasnt been fighting with his sisters and has been really sweet to them
hes been accepting his punishment very well
and apoligised to me and my husband for his behaviour over the last few months
anyways he still has a little while left of being grounded
but im thinking about letting him off early
but will he go back to his normal behaviour if i let him off early?

Answer 1

Never. Let him see that there are consequences for actions. If you stick to the full time period, he will get the message loud and clear. Then the next time he starts the poor behavior, he'll think "Is this worth the punishment I will get?"

He won't think you are unfair, just the opposite, he will know that you and your husband mean business.

In years to come, he will reflect that his parents were tough, but fair. He will thank you for being good parents.

Answer 2

Ok...this is from MY OWN experience and how my mom treated me. I was #1...an only child growing up and my behavior was just as bad (if not worse) than your son's at this point in time. I fought with my mother and was very disrespectful all of the time. She "grounded" me all the time. And it never worked. It never worked because she would let me off about about 3 or 4 days. And if she didn't let me off, one day she'd let me go to my friend's next door for an hour one day, then I'd "be grounded again" but got a break. The next day it would be the same and eventually she'd just drop it all together. DON"T LET HIM OFF!!! That is the worst thing you can do. If it gets down to the DAY before and he's still good, then let him off them, but NOT before. All of this time you've spent already will have been wasted if you let him off early...TRUST ME, I know.

Answer 3

You will be doing a dis-service to you and your family and an even greater one to your son. You are the parent, it is your job to establish boundaries, structure, and when needed Discipline. He was well aware that his behaviour was not acceptable and when you finally confronted him, and then handed out his punishment, he had to accept your terms. To derive the full effects of what has happened, and to understand you will not allow it, you must remain strong. Giving in now will show weakness and invite more bad behavior. I have personally grounded my teen daughter for up to 6 months at a time. Within 2 weeks she was being sweet, and not only promised but showed me through her actions that she realized what she did was wrong, but I did not cave in, she earned the time, served it in FULL and was a better person for it.

Answer 4

Nooooo...don't do it Mom. Unfortunately these little boogers are so dang smart. He may very well intentionally fooling you that he's seen the light...hheheh...keep the grounding, if you're thinking now it may seem a bit harsh, think about it the next time you punish, not lessening the punishment you've already handed out.

Answer 5

no way the ground was for a reason and to make a point his action on punishment is not what we should look at but what his behavior is when he comes off it but if u give in this tim e he knows u will give in next time.remember when we was potty training them how about we stop because thay when to the tolet on their own a couple of times and we stop putting them and making them stay there same principle think about it and happy paranting

Answer 6

if I were in your shoes I would make him stay on his punishment..you need to be consistent..because then he will think that everytime he gets in trouble and is good for a little while while on punishment, that you will let him get un grounded. That really isn't teaching him anything. So stick with it. Be consisitent. Have you ever seen the questions on here about people having their toddlers who won't behave and such because they weren't consistent. Good Luck!

Answer 7

You should reward him for his behavior, but you should also remain firm so he knows he can't just get out of it any time he misbehaves and then sucks up for a while.

Make him stick it out until the time is up, but after that maybe buy him a gift certificate or a pizza for him and his friends to thank him for his improvement in behavior, and openly express your gratitude and happiness about it. Make sure he knows that if he does this kind of bad behavior again, you will be strict on him again, and its because you care about him and his future.

Answer 8

Don't let him off early. That just shows that you won't follow through. Consider giving some privileges in the home back one at a time before he's finally done but do not let him off early.

Answer 9

Oh my, what a great opportunity for teaching!! YES, let him off early, after a pleasant conversation about how impressed you are with his good behavior and mature attitude. Remind him that with privilege comes responsibility, and you expect his responsible, grown up behavior to continue. Then give him a hug and tell him you are so proud that he was able to make such a good decision for himself about his behavior!

In order to be effective, consequences must always be logical. This includes consequences for both good behavior and bad behavior. Now he knows where bad behavior gets him, so it's time to teach where good behavior gets him. For future offenses, you should be more firm and wait out the full consequence.

Answer 10

DO NOT LET HIM OFF EARLY! You made a decision on his punishment and you must stick with it! It's called consistency, kids are way smart, letting him off early is like a reward, and if it's a punishment there should be no rewards. So stick to your guns on this one Mom!