For a while now, I’ve been trying to instill in the kids the importance of taking care of our house and of their own things. You know, because last I checked I was not the maid – or at least I wasn’t getting paid to be! We started having them make their beds about 6 months ago. It’s just something that I wanted them to start taking responsibility of. I do not require that the beds look perfect, just that they put in the effort. And I do not remake the beds behind them. However they make their beds is how they stay. Sloan has actually gotten quite good at making his bed look nice. When we first started, he just kind of threw his covers up and piled his pillows on top. Now, he smoothes the blankets out and stacks the pillows neatly. Tia is getting there. She tries really hard and is always so proud of herself when she’s done.
A couple of weeks ago at Once Upon a Child in Ballwin, I found these super duper chore charts.
I am so excited about these because it gives the kids some focus and it rewards their work. At the end of the week, if they have their chart mostly filled we give them a small allowance. The stickers from the chart are reusable so at the end of the each week, I just pull them off and we start all over again with a clean slate. Sloan gets stickers for making his bed, picking up toys, cleaning the bathroom, doing his homework (with a good attitude), taking his dishes to the sink (after all three meals) and having a nice attitude. I reserve the right to take any stickers away if needed. Tia gets stickers for the same things minus homework and cleaning the bathroom. It’s been a fun way to encourage them to do these simple, basic chores on a daily basis. They love to put their stickers on their charts and love getting money even more!
If any of you have other good ideas for encouraging your kids to take responsibility around the house, I’d love to hear them. I’m always up for new ideas.
P.S. As an added bonus, this is great motivation for me to make my own bed and pick up my room on a daily basis. There is the slightest possibility that my room remained a train wreck almost daily but if I’m going to require the kids to keep their rooms clean, I guess I need to model that myself. Now, if someone would only pay me an allowance…
I need one of these for Mike.
This is a really good idea, however, I am way to much of a neat freak to let Claire make her own bed and not go behind her and fix it. Maybe someday I will get there but not as of yet!
Well, luckily, or perhaps unfortunately, the neat freak gene skipped me because I’m just happy for an excuse for their beds to look a mess and to not have to make them myself! Woohoo! An excuse, a justification. And I think this is a legitimate justification – those are the best kind!