In our house, we have a rule. If you cook, you don't have to clean up. Since I usually cook, my husband takes on most of the cleaning duties. Today, he finally realized that we have two boys who are old enough to wash dishes. So while I am blogging, he is training them on the fine art of dishwashing!
Hee Hee Hee! Now he is telling stories about when we were first married and didn't have a dishwasher, so washing dishes was spending quality time together! I can just imagine the eyes rolling now! Raising kids is so fun!
Anyone have a good system for training the kids in doing chores? I'd love to hear them. My kids have too much free time this summer!
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I started SEVERAL years ago having my kids do chores. It has slowly been paying off -- and I mean s-l-o-w-l-l-l-l-ly...! Right now I teach swimming lessons for a couple of hours in the middle of the day. Recently I walked into their room (they had a 'sleepover' the night before and were in the bunk beds) and said (at 10:30 a.m., mind you!) "I'm leaving now. Your job list is on the table. When I get back I'll take you to the pool when jobs are finished." Not only do things get done, they have less time and energy for fighting, etc. when they are home alone!
You have to be willing to settle for less than YOUR best, but don't settle for less than THEIR best -- and they will try to give it to you! If it is something new to them, walk them through the first time, telling them any tips and tricks you have learned over the years of doing it. Include the CLEAN UP of the chore (putting away the vacuum, spray bottle, whatever) in the instructions. Don't re-do what they did. If it is the best they can do, leave it and learn to like it. If it isn't the best they can do -- have THEM re-do it!
For huge jobs that could be all day, I just have them spend 15 minutes. Right now, we are going around their rooms, 15 minutes at a time. Cleaning out drawers, out from under beds, etc. No rush. The mess will still be there! I also have had them walk the dog for 15 minutes and wipe fingerprints off of door facings for 15 minutes. I'm leaning toward wiping down baseboards next!
I guess none of this is a 'system', per se. But I would quick train them on 1 or 2 things you want them to do every day or once a week -- then start adding to it!
Oh -- last summer, I also walked my children through making dinner TOGETHER one night a week. I would make dessert as a reward. The THEORY was that during the school year they would have one night a week to cook. We never got that far, but I did institute who had to help me which night of the week. It's actually a good time to talk about food safety in preparation -- like don't leave any pink in your ground meat, don't cut veggies on the same cutting board as the raw chicken, stuff like that.
They will probably fuss about this new plan, but keep remembering how much you are blessing your future daughters-in-law! :-)
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