Jobs

Because I'm a mom...

I not only worry about balance in terms of myself and my life, but also in terms of my kids.

Jobs. Chores. Necessary for children. Necessary for me. You might remember this post from almost two years ago. I made up super cute job charts. I thought having job charts would help me out. Well, the novelty wore off after about 3 days, and the kids were back to being job-less. Shocker.

I must take some of the blame. It's so much easier to just clean up myself sometimes. But let's face it - they are 6 and 4 1/2 and are clearly capable of taking care of things for themselves.

Over Christmas break I re-invented the system, and it has worked like a charm. That is 3 MONTHS people! May the luck continue...

Here is what works for us:
I think it's good for them to have responsibilities that they can OWN. So, I wrote down on a notepad one thing they need to do every day (which is usually taking care of keeping their room clean, including making the bed, etc.). Then I sporadically gave them a couple other jobs throughout the week. It's not too much, and they weren't overwhelmed by looking at a chart of several things they had to do every single day. Since I do laundry on Mondays and Thursdays, they are responsible for putting their laundry away on those days. (Hmm, should I put together a list of jobs for myself, and include putting laundry away??) Tyler loves having a clean room. And seriously, it's almost always clean.

Every day I remind the kids they need to do their jobs. And seriously, NOT ONE TIME have they complained! They'll scurry around and get their stuff done, usually within 10 minutes. They have even asked for more jobs (like doing the dishes) because it's become habit. They also know that if I ask them to do something else, which I almost always do, depending on what needs to be done, it's "part" of their jobs. I think that because it's always different and that they aren't staring at an official chart full of blanks on the fridge it is easier for them to do it without whining.

And what do they get? That is the most important part, after all. We have a deal that if they do everything I ask them to, and do all their "regular" jobs (the ones that are written down on that little notepad), they get a dollar at the end of the week. And I swear to you, that is like gold to them. They both have things they are saving up for. I've started giving them $1.10 so the coin can go to tithing and they can keep the dollar, and so that I don't have to break two dollar bills every week.

If all it's going to cost me is $2 a week to get their little booties moving and helping out, I tell you - it is SO worth it. May this continue for a very long time. Now if I could teach them how to cook.