Parenting Breakthrough

I'm trying to teach my children how to work Giving them a cushy little life at home will make them want to stay here when they're grown and never leave (ever). But what if they do leave and I'm not around to do everything for them? I have to admit however, that allowing my kids to pitch-in is actually a lot of mental-work for me because I have this strange idea that I could do the job quicker and better (Okay that's definitely not strange) but I try to hold myself back because *"Ah-ha" Moment* giving children responsibilities builds self esteem and helps them to feel important and capable. We all want to feel important right? A few years back I found this really wonderful little book by Merrilee Boyack entitled The Parenting Breakthrough. If you're trying to raise a child this is an absolute must read. I love it!

Over the years I've tried a lot of different ways of assigning and implementing chores. I've used charts, stickers, money, rubber worms (yes, rubber worms), yelled and even begged. It's good to at least do SOMETHING, but I found I would get so frustrated trying to keep track of rotations and rewards I'd slack off and pretty soon the kids were getting away with doing nothing at all. What was worse were the heated "discussions" that ensued because frankly, my kids will throw a temper tantrum if I just spring a chore on them that hasn't been previously assigned .

This summer, I simplified and it seems to be working! I wrote down all the things that really need to be done in the house and since I have four children, I split them into four groups and entitled each group A, B, C, & D. Each child has a group of chores that they do for the entire week. We rotate on Mondays.

This is what it looks like:

A
Sweep
Set, Clear, & Wipe Table
Put Away Laundry

B
Unload dishwasher
Fold Laundry
Wash Walls

C
Load, Dishwasher
Toilets
Dust

D
Dishes by Hand (Whatever doesn't fit in the dishwasher.)
Vacuum
Garbage

Besides supervising, I decided I would always be in charge of mopping, washing & drying clothes (in general) and cleaning the rest of the bathrooms. My kids know how to do those things so I may rotate them in later but this seems to be working really well for now. And yes, I make my four year old do whatever chore he is assigned but I help as needed.

I don't offer a consistent reward for getting their jobs done, but sometimes I'll offer a Deal-of-the-Day kind of thing and they know they don't play with friends until chores are done. Magically, because they know what is expected of them, I don't hear even a fourth as much complaining. For example, if I ask someone to go take care of the rabbit (notice it's not on the list) expect weeping and wailing and nashing of teeth...

I would LOVE to hear what you do in your home!