Over the weekend, I asked my 6-year-old to clean up his toys in the living room.
They had become a health hazard—my foot was bruised from walking on Thor’s hammer 🤒 - why is it that only adults get injured by kids’ toys and kids don’t?
He didn't pay attention.
If this were a contract negotiation, I could try a “penalty cleaning” clause: "If you don't do it now, you will have more to clean up later."
But that wouldn’t work—my son is too sophisticated for that.
🚫 Penalty interest in contracts? IMO, just as ineffective.
Has it ever incentivized a customer to pay on time?
I appreciate the financial reasoning for the vendor—to compensate for the time value of money.
But if the customer goes out of business, penalty interest won’t help much. For payment disputes, on the other hand, maybe.
I have always found this to be a tough sell on the vendor side.
Are the clauses useful or just hot air? 💨
5.1 Penalty for Failure to Clean Toys: If any Toys remain uncleaned for more than thirty (30) minutes after being asked to tidy up, the Child shall incur a penalty of additional Toys to clean up at a rate of one (1) additional Toy for every fifteen (15) minutes of delay, until all Toys are properly cleaned.
“Toy” means an object or objects designed to distract children and adults alike, often with the sole purpose of creating chaos, generating noise, and ensuring at least one stubbed toe per household. For illustration purposes, a single Toy shall refer to a toy including its accessories and related parts (whether adjoined or decapitated).
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