Are there ways to make a contract with my child to influence their future firesetting behavior?
Sometimes, a contract with someone a child respects can help motivate them to change their behavior. This respected individual can be a parent, teacher, firefighter, police officer, or anyone important to the child. The conditions for their behavior can be spelled out on paper (in terms understandable to the child) and the parents, the respected individual, and the child can all sign off on it. A good contract should include a reward for the appropriate behavior and consequences for not meeting the conditions of the contract. Both the reward and consequence should be things that are important to the child, not the adults. For example, if a child is very fond of visits to the library, an additional trip or other treat might make good rewards. A specific time frame that is realistic and obtainable is critical as well. This also needs to be geared to the child’s age. Of utmost importance is the follow through for both rewards and consequences. A parent can lose credibility very quickly if
