Raising Royalty: Raising a Red [Part 2]

Raising a Red is an endless power struggle. Reds are the Power Wielders. But this is my cute little 5-year-old we are talking about. Is she really all these things that the personality book says she is?

YES!

It is all there within her and I can help or hinder her. So I remain ever vigilant in dealing with each of the different personality colors of my children. I love them all the same and deal with them all differently. In generations passed, parents have tried to treat all of their children the same and have seriously messed them up. I want Queen Vee to be a great person that everyone likes and a person of good character. Reds are amazing people in their strengths but can be seriously hard to deal with if they only operate in their weaknesses.

"Reds are the power wielders. Power: the ability to move from point A to point B and get things done, is what motivates and drives these people. They bring great gifts of vision and leadership and generally are responsible, decisive, proactive and assertive." The Color Code by Taylor Hartman.

Emotions = Weakness

Reds are unmoved by emotion and see it as a weakness, even as children. When I have let my emotions out of control (because granted, it’s frustrating to deal with her) it doesn’t make her remorseful (like it would to a Blue) it just confirms to her that she is right:  I have lost and she has won. As the parent, I need to win. I want to raise her to be a healthy Red. A Red with good self-esteem and doesn’t hobble in the weaknesses of her personality.

At first, I was a wimp when dealing with her. She walked all over my White Personality. She did what she wanted. I let her. It was more peaceful that way. But she was a brat, bossy, and completely undisciplined. She embarrassed me several times in front of people, which made me realize I had to successfully discipline her in order to form her into a good child and eventually a good adult.

So I shifted my approach. I thought for a while that if I showed how angry I really was, if I acted like the Great and Powerful Oz with all the smoke and fanfare, Queen Vee would finally respond in the way I wanted her to: with remorse, would stop doing whatever it was she was doing, would apologize. Emotional responses have their place but with Reds emotion does not sway them. She can see the little human behind the curtain controlling the smoke and fanfare. She is not fazed by it. It confirms to her that Mom is out of control and showing her weakness. Queen Vee wins again and I’m an emotional WRECK.

After realizing that emotions equal weakness to her, I had to change my tactics again. I don’t have to take her bad behavior personally. After all, she is just a little kid and will eventually do something wrong. I don’t have to freak out because emotional punishments don’t do a darn thing for Reds anyway.

Emotional punishments are when you give out punishments combined with the expressing of strong emotions. For example: yelling, acting out anger, spanking while still angry, lecturing her about feelings: how she should feel remorse, how others feel when she does wrong, etc.

Disciplining a Red Child

A few things I remember when disciplining her are to (#1) remain in control of my emotions, (#2) demand her attention and state what she did wrong briefly, (#3) tell her what her punishment is and carry it out immediately. Logic is what reaches her. It’s like raising Spock. If you do {this and this} then {that} will happen. One plus two equals three. (It would have been easier to figure this out if she didn't "act" emotional. But she does. It's just that emotion doesn't affect Reds like it does the other Colors.)

If she keeps pushing me (to see if I will lose it) I just keep adding to the punishments. I don’t’ let it affect me, I could go all day, as long as I remain in control of MYSELF. In the long run, she gets her discipline and by watching my actions I’m teaching her self-control and how to have appropriate reactions.

It doesn’t mean I can’t ever show that I’m mad when she does something upsetting, but I can’t use emotions as a tool against her. It is actually rather true about all children. Emotions shouldn't be used against children, but it is especially true for those Power Weilding Reds.

Do you have a Red child? How do you do discipline? Does your Red care about emotions?

Other Articles in this Series:

 

Color Coded Children   ~   Raising A Red [Part 1]  

 

Links to The Color Code online: Website ~ Facebook



Brownie Points for Privileges

I needed a way to keep track of the chores my children have completed before they are allowed their afternoon privileges. For a reward system, I've incorporated a cute little thing I found on Pinterest. (Here's the pin. But when I downloaded it, it was free.)

After printing it out, I laminated the brownies and spray painted a cookie sheet. Then I wrote their names on magnetic strips and added magnets to the back of the brownies. There is a sign hanging off the bottom of the cookie sheet that reminds them what they must do.

They must earn 3 brownie points each day in order to get game time. And gaming is restricted to the hours between noon and 2 pm.

Brownie Point #1: They must complete their Morning Routine including Morning Chore. I've posted about our Morning Routine and what that entails. But to give you a brief overview:

• They must get ready for their day (dressed, teeth brushed, face washed/or showered.)
• Eat breakfast and clean up after themselves.
• *Complete their morning chore (Each child does one of the following: unload the dishwasher, switch out the laundry, sort laundry, or feed the chickens.)

Brownie Point #2: They must Rescue their Zones. I have posted about this too. It's a great 5 minute room rescue where each child has a designated area and must tidy it up really quick.

Brownie Point #3: Their rooms must be neat and their bed should be made. (This is usually part of the morning routine, but needs an extra boost of motivation. Their game time hangs in the balance if it's not clean!)

I use this system all through school days, weekends and even summer time. I like it because I can just look at the wall and see who has earned their brownie points (plus it's cute!) I had been using tokens to keep track of gaming time, but that got too tedious and they would get lost. This earns them 1 hour all together. If they want more gaming time, they come and ask what else they can do. There are endless things that need to be done around our house so it isn't difficult to come up with something.

How do you keep track of rewards with your kids? Leave a comment!