A Blue Ribbon Award Winner

Every September, at the start of the school year, my twins begin their ritual of competition. No, it’s not to see who can solve the most math facts correctly or read the most chapter books and then lord it over his brother. My kids have their priorities in order. They get that competitive edge to see which one of them will be named Student of the Month for his class first. It’s a fight to the finish every single month and when one twin gets it and his brother doesn’t, you can imagine the chaos that goes on in our house. I use the old “Great job, honey” to the winner and “You’ll get it next month. There are plenty of months left in the school year” to the loser. This year, we didn’t need to wait long. Both boys came home on the final day of September beaming and holding his custom imprinted ribbon 2” x 8” with “Student of the Month” prominently displayed. YAY! We have two kids to celebrate in one month, and no fighting. However, I wonder. Does this give them leverage to have a free pass at misbehaving for the next 8 months of the school year?