A high-five is worth gold

There’s a great TED talk from the “That’s absurd!” playlist which is delivered by comedian and creator of Improv Everywhere, Charlie Todd. Improv Everywhere is a New York-based group of individuals who go about creating “scenes of chaos and joy in public places”, one of the most famous being the no-pants subway ride which is well worth watching.

Another of the scenes involves a subway escalator high-five which had me in tears of laughter. I was inspired by this recently and decided to use the simple high-five as an incentive for my 6-year-old to make less mess when eating rice. Whenever we eat rice for dinner there is always a huge mess beneath his seat. After dinner we have a big battle getting him to clean it all up. One night this week I decided to bribe him with a high-five. I told him that if the floor was completely clean of rice after he had finished his dinner, then I would give him a high-five. Now this sounds like a really lame incentive but it was motivation enough for him. At one point he dropped a single grain of rice on the floor and as he got down on all fours to pick it up, he said, “Will I still get a high-five?”.


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7 responses to “A high-five is worth gold”

  1. evemeredith Avatar
    evemeredith

    Could you find an incentive for old husbands please, Rach? I find they’re just as bad!

    1. Rachel Avatar

      You could try exotic animal training. It worked for this woman http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/fashion/25love.html?pagewanted=all .

      1. Eve Spence Avatar
        Eve Spence

        Thanks, for finding this interesting article, Rach. The L.R.S. technique…..

  2. MikeM Avatar
    MikeM

    But what did you say, Rachel?

    Did he?

    1. Rachel Avatar

      Yes, of course. I’m not that mean.

  3. Max Shelton Avatar
    Max Shelton

    If only the rest of life was that easy to manage!!

    1. Rachel Avatar

      Yes, if only.

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