Responsibility

One part of my growing up years that I remember vividly is chores.  We had daily chores and Saturday chores.  There was no incentive (prizes, money, etc.) for doing them, but we were expected to get them done and there were consequences for not doing them.  Even though I know I did my fair share of complaining about chores (including a particularly embarrassing time when I thought my mom was straight up lazy and didn't do anything.  Sorry Mom!!!) I wanted to teach my kids to contribute to our household and to learn how to work.  

My kids are still pretty young, but they are old enough to help out.  In the past I have tried assigning Weston jobs.  He would do them grudgingly for a few weeks then it would peter out.  Finally this summer I knew we had to figure out a system.  Ian and I decided we would pay them to do their jobs since they are always asking if they can do stuff to earn money.  We sat down at FHE at the very beginning of the summer and outlined what their jobs would be and what the rewards/consequences associated with them were.

Here's how we set it up.  The boys each have a list of jobs they have to do every day.  They earn .25 each day that they do these daily jobs without whining (if there is whining then they still have to do the job but don't earn any money for it).  Monday is our big cleaning day, so on Mondays they each have a few bigger jobs to do.  They earn $1.00 for doing their Monday jobs without complaining.  If they don't get them done on Monday or they whine then they still have to do them on Tuesday and they don't earn any money for them.  We record everything on their weekly chore chart and after FHE on Monday nights we go over their charts and pay them for the past week.

If you can't see what their jobs are, here's the list.
Every day jobs for both boys: Get Dressed, Make Bed, Brush Teeth, Read 15 minutes, Clean up Toys, Empty Dishwasher
Monday jobs for Weston: Clean bathroom sink and counter, stick vacuum hard floors, and empty trashes.
Monday jobs for Davin: Clean kitchen chairs and water plants.

It has gone even better than I expected it to.  There have been very few times that I have heard whining and had to impose consequences.  I usually will remind them that if they whine they don't get paid.  That seems to cut it off pretty quickly.  One of the things that works so well about this is that we have a set time that we go over their charts and pay them.  I'm not constantly being asked when I will give them their money.  Or forgetting all about it and negating the incentive.  I have also really liked that they are learning more about money management.  They pay their tithing right when they get their week's money.  They have each saved up enough to buy a 100 pack of Pokemon cards (about $10).  They have each experienced losing their money and how crappy that is, but I'm hopeful they learned their lesson and will keep it where it belongs from now on.

They also learned that we are serious about not paying them when they don't do their jobs/whine.  This was a note I found outside the boys' room one night when they hadn't cleaned up their room and I told them "Too bad. You'll have to clean it up tomorrow and not get paid for today."  They were pretty upset about it.  Apparently they stayed up a little longer and cleaned it up.  They still didn't get paid for that day though.  There were a few tears.

Sometimes I feel like a tough mom, but I really think they are learning valuable lessons about work, money, and disappointment.  And sometimes they work together so very well and it's like utopia in our house.  Fingers crossed I am slowly molding them into productive human beings.  And I sure don't mind them taking a few jobs off my plate! :)

You may have noticed in the picture of the fridge that Talia has a chart too.  She was having a really hard time being obedient and helpful, so we started a Good Girl Chart for her.  She just earns stickers every time she does something nice or is good for a period of time.  For example she can earn a sticker for not screaming while I do her hair. Or for being a happy girl all morning. Or for cleaning up her toys. She loves it and has earned two prizes so far.  Her first was this cute crown and wand set.  Last weekend she earned her second prize, a slurpee.  Gotta love bribery!

I am so glad that our chore charts are working.  I'm sure we will re-vamp the system eventually but for now we will stick with it!