I have come to the realization that I am not superwoman. I can't always keep the house as tidy as I would like. I have 3 kiddos who seem to work against me on keeping all of their toys picked up. But, I don't want to be the mommy that doesn't allow the kiddos not to play with something just because of the mess. On the other hand, I want to teach them to be responsible and take care of their belongings.
With the impending house going on the market and the need to have the house in order at all times, I am going to start a chore chart so we can practice now. All three will take turns vacuuming the entry foyer rug, helping to dust the furniture, taking the trash out, helping load and unload the dishwasher. I have been teaching them to pick up a toy once they are finished playing with it; they have yet to master that, though, so I've decided that throughout the day we will have a break in activities to pick up any toy left out. At the end of the week, there will be a reward for a job well done without complaining.
It is my hope that this will teach them responsibility while helping to keep my sanity.
Way to go mom! We have a fall-back method we started a couple years ago. We call it a 10 minute tornado or a 5 minute funnel. We set a timer and everyone (mom, dad and all 3 girls) have to clean up as much as possible in that 10 minutes. It usually gets the living room, kitchen and bathroom presentable. I now try to keep from doing anything that can be accomplished in that time frame and focus on a variety of other tasks during the day.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing! That is an awesome idea. We will definitely have to implement that!!!
ReplyDelete