Posted in Homekeeping, organization and frugal living
For a little while we have been trying to have our boys help at home and be more involved in the household tasks (more commonly called chores). I have tried using charts and the likes but for some reason these never worked. So, on my mission to working on dilligence with our boys, we have instilled a few tasks that they have to do. They are: putting away their toys and setting up the table. They usually put away the toys together, and they set the table (one in the morning and the other one for dinner) on alternating weeks.More recently, due to an interest in washing dishes (probably caused by a love of water), I have given them the task of clearing the table and washing the dishes. I purchased some plastic plates and bowls and now they wash and put awayin the dishwasher (we have a countertop one), alternating morning and evening. It's been working so far. I do not use charts anymore, since it does not seem to motivate them. What i do instead is do a lot of talking about being diligent, our need to do our part and the whole complaining mentality that pops up more often than I would like.
I have thought about giving allowances for chores, but somehow, in accord with my husband, don't seem to settle on doing this; mainly because we feel that we want them do do their part out of love and a sense of responsibility, and not reward motivated. So, we agreed to just start giving them allowances every week (25 cents for Joho and 30 cents for Zach). It will not be directly connected to the tasks that they do, but we will make the point (we have not started yet) that since they do help in the house they will start getting their allowances.
For those looking for systems, there is a very nice one at handipoints. I did not use it myself, just because it would not work for my kids, but it does look pretty useful. A few other sites are also, Workingmom.com and Notebookingnook (scrool down to the page there is a nice school and chore chart free printable).
Have a great day, Joelle
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