I have been caring the brunt of the chores around the house and I have recently decided I really need to get my kids involved in this. I have always thought that they should participate, but I have been very inconsistent with it. Part of me would rather do it myself because it would get done faster. But I am coming to realize that I need to get over that and really get my kids involved.
I would love advice to this if you have any. Do you pay your kids for "chores?" What kind of schedules have you used that work for you? What are things you have your kids do? Also if any of you are successful with keeping a clean house with children....Please pass on to me how in the heck you do it. Do you schedule play time in?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
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Norah
Ava
Dallas
Reese
husband and wife
Okay Dallas when you hit the ball you need to run to 1st base, 2nd base, and then home.....no mom! I don't want to go home!Reese was outside singing today while she was on the swing. And she says to me. "Mom, the sun is coming out because I am singing....I am wakin it up!" Keep singing girl, keep singing!Dallas: Look mom his doesn't have twin wheels! (translation:training wheels)Dallas: When I am a daddy....I want one of those baby Norahs.So sweet!Reese: Mom I like these things...What things? Reese: These Rat-tat-too-ies Do you mean Tattoos?Reese: Yah! TattoosDallas was holding Norah and this is what he said....Norah pooped. She pooped 3 times....Oooo....she pooped 10 times mom!!Reese was going to the bathroom and when she was done she looked (as all kids do) and said "oooo, look mom. I ate carrots!"Reese has been wanting her ears pierced. She spent that night at Ambers house and asked her if she could do it. Amber told her that it would hurt and after she did one ear she would have to do the second ear. She said "how bout you do the second ear first"We been telling the kids that Norah can't have anything to eat because she is to little. Dallas walks in the hospital and get up to look at Norah and says: "I want to see if she has a mouth"In the morning when the kids wake up they come and crawl in bed with us. I was laying on my side talking with Reese. She looked at me and said "Mom...your boobs are hugging" I just laughed. She then said "they love each other" The thoughts of a 5 ....and just in case you were wondering. I was wearing a tank top ;)Mom....when I am a mom I will have two kids and then we will have lots of kids at our house!!(And what do we have now...I am thinking)Dallas looked at my blog and the picture of the "barefoot and pregnant""mommy that's you!"Boy do I love that kid ;)My room is usually a mess. Of course I have all the "good" excuses as to why :) Well my surprise when I got home from work was a nice clean room with a made bed.When Reese came and got me this morning she said "Mom your room is Amazing!"
the things they say...
Reese: Hey mom look! She walks just fine and doesn't even need a cane! (we were at costco and she said this about an elderly lady...nice!)
About Me
- Amber Red
- I am a wife, mother of 4,a friend, and a child of God....I am addicted to coupons. Hopefully these confessions will help you save money for your family. Blessings
Hi Amber, ok so you totally don't know me from anyone, but I am Abbey's sister-in-law's sister. I admit to blog hopping at times, and I do enjoy reading yours! All weirdness of that aside...I found a chore system that has worked for me. It is off the website motivatedmoms.com (now, I will give the disclaimer that if you are not the kind of person who likes lists to cross off and basically someone telling you what to do each day, then this is not for you. For me, it was a God-send). I am happy to email you the rest of 2008 (I paid for it and can email it as a .pdf) if you are interested (just email me if so - mcmcolospgs@gmail.com). As for getting the kids involved, I have a 2 and a 3 yr old and they love to do chores. I don't pay them yet because it doesn't seem necessary at their age. The things they love to do are the swiffer duster (of course only the parts they can reach); Sometimes I give them a wet sponge and let them clean up spills on the floor (which becomes a game); I have issues with them touching chemicals at this age so I just give them tasks that keep them involved. Also, they love to use the dustbuster (for crumbs in the kitchen). Kids can also help wash dishes, but be prepared to take longer than you would. Also my 3 yr old loves to help me collect the garbage (she'll pull out all the little ones and I carry around the big black hefty bag for her to throw stuff in). Toddlers love to help anyway, so they consider it fun. Oh and the best toy ever invented (and the biggest hit in our house) is a miniature Hoover vacuum that REALLY sucks! That thing has gotten more than its share of wear, AND they are helping! Anyway, I hope I wasn't barging in on your blog here. Nothing like someone you don't know showing up with all their opinions! lol. Your family is beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteMichelle
http://twoundertwoclub.blogspot.com
I like Michelle's ideas! Her comment is funny - because you don't know me either - I'm just another blog hopper. I'm a mom to a 4yr old and a 2yr old. I do daycare for my 1yr old niece and the 2yr old daughter of a friend and now and again I have 1 or 2 other children of a friend that I watch. So basically I've had as many as 6 children under the age of 5 in my home at once - yes it does get messy! About 1/2hr before afternoon naptime I have all the kids help me clean up. We have bins for toys so the kids just have to throw the toys in at clean up time. I also choose which bins we'll have out and closets, etc. are OFF LIMITS! they all know my rule and that cuts down on how messy the house gets. Once the littlest ones are having their naps I keep the older ones occupied with coloring, reading, playdough or a video. It seems to work well and my house is usually so clean it intimidates my friends lol :) Anyway, it's possible to have a relatively neat home with small children, just figure out how much mess you can handle and make some easy rules around that. As far as helping out, I think kids should do basic chores without being paid as they are part of the family and everyone needs to chip in to make the household run. So, things like making beds, putting dirty clothes in the laundry hamper, cleaning up toys - those are all daily living chores that are easy for kids to do - just try not to be too picky. (I usually go around behind them and "adjust" where it needs it if I have time and it won't make them feel bad). Sorry for the long post but I couldn't resist getting my two bits in ;)
ReplyDeleteHave fun!
Dyan
I have tried a lot of different ideas from schedules of what to do each day to just trying to keep up on making kids clean up after themselves. This is what works best for me. My 9 and 11 year old clean up after dinner. This lets them focus on homework and playing after school and waking up to a clean kitchen is so nice. My smaller ones help out by picking up their toys and I watch out for things they like to do (for instance my 3 year old loves to make my bed). When the whole house needs an overhaul we all clean together. I have 5 kids and we go through the house tackling one room at a time. One picks up toys, one puts books away, one vacuums, you get the idea. I think it works best for us because it's fun and we're spending time together. Does our house stay clean? No way, I gave up on that awhile ago.
ReplyDeleteWe have an allowance system that's not just for chores. I have charts with squares and I put them up on the fridge and they are responsible for marking stars/happy faces when they do anything helpful from changing a diaper to making their bed to cleaning off their place. The 9 and 11 year old have 100 squares to fill up (it usually takes them 3-4 weeks) and when they do they choose either a special date with mom or dad (like a movie) or they earn $10. The 5 and 3 year old have less boxes to fill and don't earn as much but they haven't really caught on to the idea anyway. That reward system works for me because they are responsible for keeping track but I also have explained the honor system and they know I'm keeping my eye on it.
Good luck and have fun:)
oh, you should see our home right now!!! and many friends have come over to help...praise the Lord for that! we do try to get the kids to help whenever possible...but right now i'm considering paying someone...the prov. 31 woman had servants, so i consider that i'm just trying to be more godly!!!
ReplyDeletehope you find something that will bless you and your whole family!
hi amber, we sometimes play music while we clean up. makes it more of a party. they love being/doing things with us so we do it together usually. we will say, "let's try to get the living room completely picked up before this song ends." we haven't moved beyond the picking up or clearing the table to actually cleaning yet. let me know if you find a system that works for you.
ReplyDeleteLets get together and chat on this one...
ReplyDeleteI'll have to do a post on my blog about this. I just don't have time to write much right now. Loving all the ideas I'm seeing here too.
ReplyDelete