Kids & Chores – No Reason to Be Tired

My children call it slave labor, I call it a benevolent dictatorship.

 

This photo here is of our son, Samuel. He’s twelve years old and now mows the lawn. Did I mention that we are living on an acre of land? Which means each of our three kids still living at home; David (18), Grace (14) and Samuel, all split this huge space into equal shares. I admit, I feel kind of bad we’re the only home on the bock without a riding mower. But, what stories they’ll share when they’re grown. They’re already bragging about their horrible weekly task!

When I hear a friend complain their house is a mess, yet have capable children at home, I just don’t understand it. When a friend complains about all she has to do, and has teenagers at home, I want to scream. Children may not be able to clean a dish like you can, but remember, if they can understand their Xbox and iPod, they’re capable of maneuvering a vacuum.

There are a few of you out there who are exhausted. Not only that, you’re tired AND have messy houses. Your kids roll out of bed and make their breakfast, get dressed, and head outside to play. The summer months you may worry about keeping them in the “fun zone”, lots of activities, vacation, play dates with friends and maybe they participate in a summer sport or two. At the end of the day, they eat dinner, then head to bed and start all over again in the morning.

Train a child up in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 kjv

Meanwhile, you’re still tired and your house is still a mess. So, here are a few tips and tools to help you get some of your sanity back and mold your children into responsible, capable, independent adults.

• Create a chore chart. If you’re the analytical, linear type, this is right up your alley. After twenty one years of parenting, I’ve tried the weekly chore list, the monthly chore list etc. We now give a child a responsibility for a year or two. Seriously. I was sick of the fighting and the complaining if one child wasn’t home to do the dishes. So, once Meghan moved away to college, David had dishes for a few years. When he moved on to mowing the lawn and daily garbage, Grace took over at the sink. It works for us.

• Daily Responsibilities. Every morning our kids make their beds, clear out the dishwasher, dump the garbage, put breakfast dishes in the sink. If you’ve never asked your little ones to play a part in this type of housework, you’re in for a challenge. Hold tight and hang on, stand your ground. As they come to understand they are a part of a family, a team, they will learn to accept their new responsibilities.

• Make it fun. Daily housecleaning doesn’t have to be drudgery. Put on a song and tell the kids they have until it’s over to finish one of their chores. Reward them each week with a trip to dollar scoop night at Baskin Robbins, or Starbucks for a dollar kiddie-cocoa. I found these adorable chore charts over at iMom that you can download and use.
• Summer Fun – After Chores. No matter what our kids want to do this summer, no matter what fun awaits them even today, chores are done first. As much as I can’t wait to have fun with them and shuttle them to a few neat places, I want to teach them that responsibilities are first. I remind myself, I’m raising an adult. When they’re grown and gone, I want them to focus on their responsibilities first.

Take these next few months and train your child to be a productive, helpful, and responsible part of the family. It’s a lesson you’ll be glad you taught them. Remember, you’re not your child’s summer social director, you’re their mom.

Mom, give your child a chore or two…or four. Don’t steal this badge of honor from your kids. They want to feel like a part of the family. They take pride in helping. 

Joanne Kraft is a busy mom and the author of Just Too Busy—Taking Your Family on a Radical Sabbatical. She has a passion for igniting hearts for Jesus—especially moms. Joanne has been a single mom, a divorced mom, a full time working mom and a stay at home mom. She understands the heart of a mom.

Sign up for her newsletter The Busy Mom Bulletin

 

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