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| Nuts right!? |
Today we were cleaning the house and basement to prepare for my Mother, who is coming into town tomorrow. I was in the basement most of the morning and the kids decided they wanted to be down there too. I swear, with all the toys they were finding, it was like Christmas all over again!
I went through and piled all the baby items (strollers, high chair, bouncy seat) in one area. I also went through boxes and threw out all the crap I knew we would never use. Then came the tubs.... Oh, mountains and MOUNTAINS of tubs. Most full of clothing. I will shortly be sorting them into sizes and sending them to friends who have children that it will actually fit, setting aside things Mia will grow into.
After sorting through junk and doing tons of laundry, we came up stairs and ate some lunch. The kids had crafts of their choosing. They chose play dough and glue with colored rice and made some lovely art work. We're talking fridge worthy, here. Ok, maybe not... But they had fun.
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| purdy art |
After they did their crafts, we made dinner. It was my first attempt at pesto. With no food processor, no less. It was fantastical. Everyone gobbled it down and made sure to say how much they liked it. Extra points for mom.
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| THAAAAAT'S RIGHT! |
After dinner, well... time for dishes. I decided to see if Jeremiah could step up the the plate here. He THRIVES on structure and designated tasks. He's been successfully emptying the entire dishwasher, for months. He also helps load it when I hand him the dishes. I asked him if he wanted to try to DO the dishes. He EXCITEDLY answered yes. Ok, buddy... go for it! Boy did he! He rinsed and scrubbed and was excited to use the sprayer. He successfully loaded and started the sink full of dishes. WHAAAAT?! Is this possible? Can my 5 year old REALLY do the dishes? Is that sad that I'm RIDICULOUSLY excited about this? I have no intention of making him a slave (ok maybe in my mind, he will be a dish slave). But, the help every so often (especially if he asks to help), will be awesome. He's also a great vacuum-er. LOL $50 to rent him for the day ;)
An idea: start paying Jeremiah "commission". It's a Dave Ramsey thing, but it works in a way that I hopefully can explain as well as he does.
ReplyDelete"Allowance" is what society calls "welfare" for adults. No one ever benefitted from being given money they didn't earn. But if he doesn't earn money, he won't have a framework for it when he gets to the age when he can work in the real world.
So, set up 5 or 6 chores that Jeremiah is responsible for every day. Check it off if he does it. There are things we all do as a family because we love each other and we're developing good habits (like brushing teeth, making beds, etc). There are other things that can be JUST for Jeremiah to do for commission.
Set up a chart. If he does all 5 chores every day for a week, he gets $5. Make a big deal out of paying him. He EARNED it through hard WORK. Then, help him split it up into 3 categories: giving, saving and spending.
You can split it up however you want, but it's suggested that $1 goes to giving, $2 goes to saving and $2 goes to saving. The "save" money could go in a big, clear container that he can watch fill up (crumpled up dollar bills take up more space than folded ones). Once a month, take all the dollar bills out and count them. Let him decide if he wants to keep saving for a big ticket item, or if he wants to spend it now. Also let him decide how/to whom he wants to tithe. His immediate spending money is his; if you go to the grocery store, he can use his spending money to buy ...a chocolate milk... or whatever you deem appropriate.
That's it! It helps kids understand that money needs to be earned; it doesn't just appear. If you don't work, you don't earn. It also helps them understand that money needs to be managed; saving money helps it grow! And that once the money gone, it's gone. There's no magic "but I WANT it!" fund waiting to make up the difference if you come up short.
Just thought I'd share :) It was a HUGE revelation for me, because we were struggling with the whole "but if we pay them for chores, we're teaching them they don't have to pitch in at home just cuz they're part of our family". And then the other side says, "if you don't let them manage money in some fashion, they'll be ill-equipped as young adults." Powerful stuff. Selective commission on a pre-determined handful of chores seems like a good middle ground!
He does "Save, Spend and Tithe" with his money, though we've discussed it many times, and we will not pay for chores. We talk with him a lot about managing money and he knows we all live off what Daddy makes. Obviously that conversation can only go so deep at 5 years old. He's relatively good with it. He knows money only goes so far. He knows SOMETIMES he gets it for "helping/working" around the house, other times it's for a gift from whomever.
ReplyDeleteBut, we agree with what you said you were struggling with. We will not pay our children for helping around the house. We will instead instill a sense of pride for their home. We teach them that a family works as a unit and vitally needs every members help to run smoothly. No matter how small that help may be.
But we definitely serge with the "save, spend, tithe" aspect. That's very important to us. I was never taught to save or tithe and it bit me in the butt as an adult.
*agree not serge. Stupid auto correct
ReplyDelete