Success with Cluster Contests: Recruiting & Sales

[DebPC]

Has anyone had any success with cluster contests?Either recruiting or sales?

 

[BethCooks4U]

My cluster is good at cheering each other on and doing things to earn incentives themselves but they do not respond at all to group incentives.

 

[DebPC]

I have heard of directors with larger groups doing a Spa certificate or Maid for a Day contest. And smaller groups doing Blockbuster gift cards and movie night buckets.
Has anyone here ever been involved in anything like this?

 

[dannyzmom]

We do "Movie Night" - if you submit 4 shows in any one month, you get a Blockbuster gift card and a bag of popcorn...but this is more not really a cluster competition, more of a self-competition...

 

[cmdtrgd]

I tried one once and felt so bad when they didn't make it - personally, I don't want to feel that again, so I probably won't do it. However, I wouldn't mind pitting my downline clusters against each other....I would need to have downline clusters first!

 

[Admin Greg]

Do you agree with spanking? If so, for what offense and for how old?

 

[Shawnna]

I do agree with spanking. I believe there is a difference in spanking and abuse. I think spanking is a last resort punishment. Spanking will not work for all kids. Each child is different. My oldest rarely needed a spanking. We could talk to him and he has always had very mature reasoning abilities. A few minutes in time out to think was generally all he needed. My middle child is vey tender hearted. If you look at her funny she will cry. So, she didn't get spankings very often either. My youngest son was a terror. He was/is very mischievious and sneaky. He received spankings a lot...always as a last resort. Now he is about to turn 12 and doesn't get spankings any more.

I do not believe spanking a child hurts them emotionally. I do not believe it makes them afraid of adults. I believe it teaches them to fear the consequences of wrong actions. I believe that spanking is biblical. I believe that spankings are to be on the child's bottom. However, I will admit that after asking my child to stop "smart mouthing" and being disrespectful I have slapped them in the mouth...not hard enough to make them bleed or hurt them, but hard enough to get my point across. I do not believe you should hit your child with your fist. I do not believe you should hit them with a belt on their legs, back or arms.

Sometimes talking or time out works...or taking away something...but it won't always work.

 

[janetupnorth]

Yes, but like Shawnna said in the right context. By the time they get to be about 8-9 they should be able to reason and obey without a spanking and with other forms of punishment. My DD RARELY got a spanking. She is kind-hearted and emotional. She gets right from wrong very fast and with talking. She has only had 5-6 spankings in her entire life (6 years old now). DS who is almost 4 is so strong-willed that he would REFUSE to behave until you spanked him and then all was good again. He purposely would test up to that point. I talk to my kids BEFORE and AFTER a spanking and also make sure I am not reacting in anger but doing it properly for correction. The only other thing I did once or twice to the kids was flick them in the lips (with thumb and index finger) for purposeful biting when about 2. Gets their attention, they feel it, but doesn't do damage. I also do it in private only not at a store or other public place. Even when you take the steps to do it properly and by laws have the right as a parent, people freak out (usually those who have never had kids or who have kids who are TERRORS!!!!).

 

[imported_heat123]

My kids get a slap on the hand if they are bad, so yes I believe in spanking. The reason for the hand is kind of funny though.
We all go around smacking eachothers booty in this family and along with it goes a "whaaaapooosh" sound so the kids think its a joke and fun to smack that butt. And the girls have become so tolerant on the rear that spanking was not affective for punishment. So it's the hand slap. They also get 3 warnings before it happens and then a talking to after it happens.

And I too believe in private not public spanking.

 

[Kathytnt]

Ahhh - I see this is under the parenting thread - I thgouht if it was a general thread it might be TMI

 

[janetupnorth]

Ahhh - I see this is under the parenting thread - I thgouht if it was a general thread it might be TMI

Yeah, that new posts feature causing trouble - huh?

 

[jrstephens]

I do spank when necessary. We use time out as well at times. I use what I think is warranted in the situation.

 

[Gina M]

I've never spanked my kids - I wasn't spanked as a kid and my kids are generally well behaved (of course, they've had their moments like any other kids - the evil eye and a disappointed look on mom and dad's faces generally get them to stop what they are doing) - they are older now and I'm proud to say really good kids.

 

[crystalscookingnow]

We're like several others in this post. We use spanking only as a last resort & always talk to them before and after. We give them 3 warnings & a time out before they get a spanking.

 

[JAE]

My kids are too old to spank these days, and I don't remember when we stopped. I was not a counter (1...2....3..) NO WAY! We used spankings and time outs. We gave a warning, but only one. Now, for the most part my kids are old enough that they don't get warnings too often. Now I ground them from computer, skateboard, playing with friends on school days, listening to the radio, etc.

 

[cmdtrgd]

I don't have kids, but I do have nieces. The oldest is 10 and they ONLY time she was spanked was when she was 2 and walked out into the street. It was for her safety and she NEVER did it again! Now, she is being raised by my parents who did spank me and my brother. They even broke a wooden spoon on me and then went to the ping-pong paddle. I tend to react physically, so I probably won't spank unless it is like what happened with my niece. I remember running through the house with my dad running after me with the paddle - I had this gutteral sound coming out of my mouth...it was surreal...but I was AFRAID of him at that time. I can't even remember why he was trying to spank me, but I remember the feeling I had...even now.

 

[BethCooks4U]

I do believe in spanking but only to get their attention. By the time they are 4 or 5 other discipline works better. My parents were close to abusive (I remember real fear and from what my aunt - 5 years older than me - tells me I don't remember everything they did). I swore I would never be that way and I wasn't. My ex-husband, John, hit too hard a few times and even though I didn't/couldn't stand up to him most of the time I DID at those times and it stopped quickly. My husband, Craig, spanked each of the kids. Most of them just once. Not in anger, not hard. Just enough to get their attention when the behavior needed an abrupt halt, and never without taking a moment to breathe and think first.

I think we have to be very careful. In this day and age people tend to get in other people's business too fast. I do not believe we should be allowing abuse at all but we have to be careful that we know what's happening before we step in. That being said, anyone who is publicly hitting or humiliating someone is probably doing much worse in private and should at least talk to a counselor about behavior modification.

 

[ginamkiely]

we spank when necessary, but only a little tap on the hand or butt and that's enough to make him sad that he even got spanked so he learns. it's not often we have to do it thank god

 

[caynreth]

Spanking works on younger kids. It gets their attention faster than anything else and THEN they will listen to what you have to say. Usually. After about the age of 9 though, just take their video games or computer access away.

 

[friday]

I do believe in spanking. I have spanked the oldest probably a dozen times in 13 years. The middle boy maybe a handful of times, he didnt need it so much. He would cry and straighten up with a LOOK. I haven't spanked the baby- of course- he is just a baby. He HAS just recently figured out what 'no' means. It reduces him to tears even if the word is used in other contexts.

 

[Shawnna]

It is really good when they get to the point that you don't have to spank them. I never counted. I was a head start teacher and have a degree in child development. When you count, they learn that they don't have to obey until you get to 3. You want them to obey immediately. It could be their life that depends on it. A good example of this is our youngest...who recieved lots of spankings when he was smaller...He is 12 today. But we taught him...eventually...to listen and obey the first time. Once when he was about 7 he and the other kids were playing keep-away in the drive-way/parking area after church one evening. The ball got away and Hunter was running after the ball...into the street. He wasn't paying attention to anything but the ball. When we saw what was happening we immediately yelled "Hunter STOP". He stopped just as the ball rolled into the street and a pick-up went by. Had he not learned to listen he could have been dead. When our pastor preaches on obedience, he always uses this as an example.

A spanking will not harm kids...a beating does. There is a difference. And, I will admit that our oldest...who is a senior this year...has received a spanking from his dad in the last year. It was a last resort...Heath was being very disrespectful and when we would get on to him he would "bow-up" like he was ready to fight...teen hormones, don't you love them. Of course his dad wouldn't fight with him, he just bent him over and busted his tail. It got his attention. This kind of behavior could cause harm. We don't want him to act that way to us or anyone else. Now we can take his car keys away...or tell him he can't go out on Friday/Saturday night...and that works.

My parents spanked me and my siblings. We are good people. We don't hate our parents and we are not violent. We don't abuse our children. We respect our parents and other people in authority. We are not afraid of our parents. To this day I would never be disrespectful of my parents. I would never tell them NO or Shut-up. I would never argue with them. And to be honest, if my dad said he was going to give me a spanking today, I would have to go and let him.

I have never been one to ground my kids. I have taken away the computer, video games, etc. But when you ground your kids, you are basically grounding yourself too. Someone has to stay home with them and make sure the punishment sticks.

Nobody likes punishment, especially a spanking. But, our children must learn that their are consequences for their actions and that it not only affect them, but others around them as well.

 

[imported_lkprescott]

I've not had to spank my kids. I believe that if I'm teaching my kids not to hit it gives them the wrong message if I spank them. That's not a reflection on what others choose... I know my folks did spank when needed and the last time I needed was age 8 when I sassed back at my dad.

For my kids though, I've used counting back from 5 and the threat of getting to 1 has been enough for them not to try and get me there. *giggle* Time outs also but I make sure they know WHY they're getting a time out, not just putting them in a time out and they're not sure why. I found they respect it more that way... otherwise they rootch around and get in more trouble. We also talk about it when the time out is over and talk about other choices they could have made to avoid doing whatever it was that they were doing that got them in trouble.

Now that DS is 11, I rarely have to discipline and it's mostly in the removal of privileges... like taking away 'screen time' (computer/DS/TV), not allowing him to go to a YU-Gi-Oh tournament or social at the Y (like dodgeball night)... there's still times when he knows he's screwed up and we talk about it... which I think is really important. I've seen a lot of folks out in public get frustrated and 'speak' well with their actions (with a swat or a threat of one) and not with their words... and like I tell my kids "use your words, not your actions" when they're upset, frustrated, whatever...

I have to chuckle at the comment above about the playful swattings so the kids not taking spankings seriously. We do that too.. (playful pats being different from hurtful hits of course)... DH being the worst of the bunch [to me]... so I doubt spankings would work anyway.

 

[Christ Follower]

Yes I do. I do time outs or remove priveledges if it is a "minor" offense though.

 

[imported_jenniferp417]

My stepdaughter was spanked maybe twice when she was 3 or 4 or so. Never since... but when she was small, counting to 3 was all we needed. Now, the threat of grounding is enough. She knows better than to mess with us for the most part, so spanking isn't needed. And I'm glad, because then the issue of whether I, as a stepmother, should spank is a non-issue.

 

[Carissidy]

We're like several others in this post. We use spanking only as a last resort & always talk to them before and after. We give them 3 warnings & a time out before they get a spanking.

I do too... it is more of a tap really bc I feel bad but it also gets their attention...

 

[MissChef]

Yep, and I do it like the bible says ~ just a sting, not a beating! I don't do it when I'm mad and I always give time outs first, because it gives us both time to think and for me to pray and seek wisdom on my words when I talk to her and what if any other punishment should be given or would be better. My son hasn't been spanked in probably 5 years. My daughter still gets one from time to time, but it's been at least 6 months. I think she's finally learning her boundaries! :thumbsup:

 

[toniascookin]

man my 2 year used to get spanking all of the time, he is one fearless boy. When my husband had gotten back from his deployment he would spank our son over every little thing he did he was only like 15 months old but my hubby was gone for so long that he didn't know how to discipline our son. I kept asking my husband to stop spanking him over every little thing and he finally did but now my little cutie when we tell him no and smack our own hand he repeats us, and stops doing what ever he was doing and now we don't spank him, and he reasons fairly well now.
Tonia