Since my children have completed another year of school I decided it was time to give them more responsibility around the house. They are very helpful, but we do not have set jobs in place for them. I decided to implement a new habit into my life by writing up a chore chart each day for my 6 children. This has been working like a dream. I am amazed at the constant state of order and cleanliness in the house. The floors are being swept everyday, and not by me, whereas prior to this they were getting swept every 2 or 3 days (by me). This has been wonderful.
An issue I have been trying to figure out is how to get the kids to do their chores in a timely manner and not right before bed. Also, we have to deal with items left out around the house. I figured that I would give extra jobs to the child who doesn't have their work done by noon. This has put new fervor into the kids. They wake up and immediately get busy on their lists. The list does not just include chores, but also things such as read your Bible, practice typing, read for 20 minutes and so forth.
My latest challenge was that of my son leaving 5 items around the house before he went to bed. When I got up in the morning I could see his things littered carelessly around the house. I set up an infractions list and the children get one tally mark for each item they leave out. Once they have 5 tally marks, they get an extra job of my choosing. When I told my son that he had to clean my bathtub because of his infractions, he began to protest. I told him to go work on his daily chores and let me think about it. He was trying to convince me that he should clean the counters instead of the tub.
I began to analyze what I want to teach him and how I should go about it. If I allow him to tell me what job he will do, he is learning that I do not have the final say and that I can be persuaded. I am training him to have an argumentative spirit. I called him back and explained this to him. I told him that based on my analysis of the situation that he had to clean the tub because I want him to know that I am the boss and make the ultimate decisions. Praise the Lord for these teachable moments. We encounter them all day long as parents. The question is, what will we do with them? Oftentimes it is easier to give them their way and not hear them complain, but in the long run, what lesson are they learning? Are they learning to respect us and our authority or are they learning to rule over us?
I am happy to report that all ended well. My son happily cleaned the tub and hopefully learned that it is easier to keep his stuff cleaned up than to have to do an unpleasant job. In case he forgets I am sure I can find a job to remind him.
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