Be Honest. Do I Need to Call Nanny 911?
You probably think that since I’m a regular contributor to the Family & Parenting channel of IowaMoms.com, I’m an expert on the subject. I’ve got it all under control. My kids are model citizens, and my house is spotless.
Well, sorry to disappoint.
The truth is, I probably have far more to learn from all of you than you have to learn from me!
Take, for instance, the subject of getting your kids to help around the house. Or just picking up AFTER THEMSELVES. My husband and I are nearing our combined wits’ end on this topic. In fact, he called me at work today, clearly having run out of patience. “How am I supposed to get the kids to help without fighting with them all day?” Sadly, I had no answer for him.
It’s gotten to the point where my kids will raid the refrigerator, slurp down a Go-Gurt, and just leave the still-oozing tube on the carpet. They don’t even think twice!
I keep wondering where we went wrong. It’s not like we’ve ever condoned that kind of behavior, and it’s not like they see us throwing our apples cores behind the couch. We definitely haven’t been immaculate housekeepers over the years, but we’re not disgusting slobs either. We like things clean. We like things tidy. Most of the time, we just get overwhelmed and run out of time to get it all done.
We’ve tried yelling. We’ve tried bribery. We’ve tried a point system for positive reinforcement. We’ve threatened spanking. We’ve tried guilt. We’ve referenced Bible verses. Nothing seems to work.
So if there’s something that works well for you, or you have an idea of how we can get our three hoodlum boys (ages 10, 6, and almost 4) to pitch in and be responsible members of our family, please, PLEASE comment!
Otherwise, Nanny’s gonna be getting a call…
Posted by Paula @ boogersandburps
It won’t help with “trash” like gogurt packages and apple cores, but with things they have … Wii games, movies, books, even ball caps … if I see it laying around where it’s not SUPPOSED to be … I take it. I have a box in my closet that they don’t know exists and all those things are in there. When they learn to finally take care of things and put them where they belong, I’ll start giving things back.
We just started this about a month ago. We’re making progress. The other day Jake was playing his cherished BACKYARD BASEBALL Wii game and the doorbell rang. It was a friend to play … sure enough, Jake said, “Hang on, I have to go put my game away.” Because he KNEW I’d take it and he didn’t want to lose it.
I’m hoping as we carry on and stay strong and always follow through, it will become a habit for them rather than a chore.
Good luck!
This is what I do for my trio (ages 7, 5, and 2): I post a list of morning chores, afternoon chores and bedtime chores. They can go play after morning chores. After lunch, they have to do their afternoon chores if they want their screen hour between 4-5. If they aren’t done by 4, oh well. Each of the chore lists include “pick up clutter” so a lot of the stuff they are flinging about during the day gets picked up. The TV/computer/Wii screen is a really big incentive for mine so they usually get it done, plus it is scheduled for making dinner time, so it works for me.
Thins disappear around our house if they aren’t picked up. As for garbage… well, I’m not to that point yet. But I think that a nast Go-Gurt thing on the rug could equal the loss of a favorite video game or computer time.
I have a chore chart that the girls are supposed to have completed each day. We sat down with them and wrote down a list of everything around the house that needs to be done, and we had a family meeting to discuss who does what. When they saw the list of things that husband & I do, they were a little more willing to do their fair share. So far they have been good about it.
Thanks for all the good advice! My husband and I sat down and came up with a list of 10 “Family Rules,” such as “No eating anywhere but in the kitchen” and “Pick up after yourself.” You’d think these would be common sense, but apparently we haven’t yet instilled that sense into the boys. We also devised consequences for breaking a family rule, and we’ve tried to be pretty firm about following through. We also came up with a list of daily chores that must be completed in order to get a weekly allowance. I did notice that my youngest actually ASKED me today if he could have a snack from the fridge instead of just helping himself (and usually leaving the fridge door open as well). So I think there’s hope!
the chore chart can be helpful for everyone in the family (moms and dads included). Some kids are visual and if they can see the list (or pictures if they can’t read) of things to do, their brains click a little better. At my house, I’ve contemplated one many times mostly for my husband. The chart would help me see ALL that he does and would help him see all that he DOESN’T.
Other things I’ve heard of are turning on music for a certain time (15 sec) and they dance and pick up during the music. It creates movement (aka excercise) and gets something accomplished.