I get what you're saying. But if you go to #2 to incent #1, why not go to #3 to incent #1 and #2. And so on. Those who get punished most are those who do the best, it seems backward to me.
Another way of saying I have a problem with the logic is a parent with two kids. One has always been well behaved and responsible. The other one is always getting in trouble and being a general pain in the ass. They both get caught stealing a car together. So you punish the good kid more because he's always been a good and you do nothing to the bad kid because he behaved as you'd expect. I know some parents for whom that logic will make sense, but it doesn't to me.
Though I understand it in a way. As I tell Lani, she's the only person who can truly piss me off and make me out-of-control angry because it feels like a betrayal every time I'm forced to realize she isn't perfect (and vice versa, I can make her angry in ways nobody else can). Not that this is fair.
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