Monday, July 7, 2014

3 Chores I Always Make My Kids Do

My daughter loves cleaning toilets.  I have no idea why, but it amuses me to no end that she is always begging me to let her clean our toilets.  She's like a real-life Cinderella.  And the good news is that there are so many benefits to making the kids do chores.  It really is good for their self-esteem, and my basic life's goal is not raise kids who aren't bratty or ego-centric.  I find that these little chores go a long way toward my life goal.
So, these are the three chores my four and five year old children can do:
1.  Put away their own laundry. Yes, I wash and fold, but when I'm done, I just stack it outside their door and they know that they have to put it away themselves.  
2.  Take over their plates.  This one isn't their favorite, especially because it seems like they usually have about three plates between the main course, the veggies, and the fruit, but despite their grumbling, they do take over their plates and I have seen them even take over their plates during play dates and at Grandma's house, which really warms my heart and seems to impress our hosts.
3.  Keep their rooms clean.  We had a hard time with this one until one day I overheard a neighbor tell her kids they couldn't come out to play because their rooms weren't clean.  I then witnessed those kids scramble up to their rooms, frantically clean, and then come running outside like they had won the lottery.  It was then that I realized the power of the desire to play with friends.  It is very strong and since then we adopted the same rule.  If they want to play outside with their buddies, their rooms have to be clean.  It works like a charm.
I have to say, I also love not having to do these chores myself for them.  And I know it is keeping them down to earth because one day at a restaurant Little Buddy said, "Mommy, restaurants are so awesome because I don't even have to take my plates over!"
His grin was infectious and I was so pleased to learn that he didn't feel like the world owed him trips to restaurants.  He truly appreciated it.  And that's all a parent can ask for.  
 
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