As parents who had exhausted every means of trying to constantly keep our girls on the right track to responsiblity and growth (i.e. Why do I have to tell you to pick up your clothes, I've asked you four times to do your reading...blah blah blah), We recently instigated a chore/reward chart my friend Jac mentioned.
That crap works.
Yesterday was the two week end to the first trial run. They completed more than enough stars (predetermed amounts by my calculator weilding husband) to attend a local fun zone/party central mind boggling kind of place where there are rides, games and food.
We started at 4 and bought wristbands for the entire family. We got home at 1130. I'm in a coma, but my girls won over 1200 tickets off $20 bucks (I am really good at strategy on those machines) and they came home with tons of prizes and toys.
We rode go carts till Duchess threatened to vomit on me. We did bumper boats in the water, where Duchess and I were held hostage and soaked by a bunch of preteen boys. The Man and Princess did round and round of race tracking. We attempted mini golf until the local peewee football team behind us became too much to handle and we bailed back to the games.
It was great. All for under a hundred bucks, easy!
This morning, we all slept late and the girls woke me up to know when the new chart would go into effect. So we've decided upon the next treat, in four weeks time now. This time we're gonna go for a family day at a nearby mountain town. Fun times ahead.
Only and if, our kids both reach their quota.....actually not true. If one kid reaches it and one doesn't. One parent will take the kid on the outing and one will stay home with the other one for a normal day. We set this rule up as an incentive to keep it fair. After all, they have different chores and are very different little girls, so this is working for us.
So as I've been asked what we have on our chore/reward list.......
Chore/Required tasks everyday:
-brushing teeth
-brushing hair
-making bed
-homework
-manditory reading before bed (times and types differ per kid)
-putting away all shoes in the house by the doors (Duchess only)
-picking up livingroom pillows and removing toys (Duchess only)
-picking up dog pooh (princess only)
-helping mommy wiht laundry -folding/putting away only (princess)
-tidying their bathroom
-good attitude
-good beahavior at school/karate
-laying out school clothes and packing backpacks
Things we give extra credit for:
-being sweet to each other
-taking on extra chores just because
-helping mom/dad with a project
-being respectful to other adults
-being helpful without being asked
Things we take away credit for:
-lying
-hiding clothes under beds/closets
-mistreating Murphy
-backtalk
-tattling
-ignoring
Since we started this, the turn around in the girls is amazing. We still have rough days of mom/dad suck and we hate the world, but we are raising two little girls, so we kinda expect that.
It's nice though to see that they are becoming more responsible for themselves and their things. Plus, it's really nice to be able to yell "Don't make me take a star"
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The Fruits of Their Efforts
