You often read about how incentives can have a perverse unintended effect. I think that I have an example. A couple of weeks ago we decided to pay 20c to each child who was up, breakfasted and dressed by 8.45 on school mornings. On the first morning, the Princess appeared in our bedroom fully dressed at 8.15. A couple of days later she turned up at 7.20. This morning she turned up fully dressed at my bedside at 5.05 am.
Easily solved. Introduce fines for being too early 🙂
You could also introduce a Prisoner’s Dilemma/co-operation angle. In that the reward is only given if all children are ready within the correct time slot.
Can you tell I don’t have children 🙂
Ouch. I’d go with Chaotic’s suggestion, or she’ll be waking you as soon as you get to sleep soon.
Of course you’re also setting up the situation that one or all of your children could rationally decide to forgo the 20c in favour of the lie in. I think Cha0tic’s right – harness the Princess’s natural eldest-child bossiness to do the dirty work… (And yes, I also have no children so can see no downside to this)
Cha0tic, Pog, TM, despite being a child genius, herself is hopeless at telling the time, I need alternative solutions here.