This is how your whole summer could go. I chose not to give into the madness. The summer rules shall be typed up and signed by all parties. They will have a loose summer schedule (my kitchen is not open all day every day) and there will be consequences. I love consequences. I have a chore jar. I fill it with disgusting chores that I do not want to do. Case in point---cleaning the tile in the bathroom around the toilet with a toothbrush. No one wants to clean up pee, but if you are going to wreck the calmness, you are cleaning up pee. Sorry. Three boys and a husband and various other children in our household are enough for me. I also put in cleaning the baseboards. Dusting everything in the house, and you really do have to pick up all the little nicknacks along the way. Weeding the flowers is a good one. They have to be above and beyond the call of regular duty for these kids, or it will not make an impact.
If I stick to my guns, in about a week, we have courtesy, respect and mostly peace. When the peace goes south, the chores come out. Love it. I cannot stand yelling and slamming, it is totally unacceptable to me. They don't do it at the neighbors house, so they should not do it at ours. Period.
What do you use to keep your house calm in the summer? Let me know and let the ideas flow.
God bless you and yours.
Posts
4 comments:
Nothing makes me crazier than the all-day grazing, unless it's the whining of "There's NOTHING to eat!" So yesterday we went to the grocery store; each of the boys got to contribute 5 items to the list to "stock up" on acceptable, accessible, cook-it-yourself snacks. We'll replenish every week, although from here on out, they'll just get 2-3 things a week.
Kay, I love your Chore Jar idea!!! I am thinking up my chores as we speak!!
Scott actually forbids all day grazing, he has established meal times during the summer. I am bracing myself for a much bigger food bill. Oh well, such is life with three boys and a girl and all their friends over all the time.
My Daughter is a snacker,my son not so much, and she is STARVING all day long. Being 6 I can see she probably is hungery, but not all day. She is active and healthy so she burns a lot of calories. So we have set snack times in for the summer. They go along the times they are allowed to get a snack at school. Bearkfast is before 9AM snack at 10:30AM and lunch at 12:30.
If there is hunger between it is boredom and they must need something to keep them busy. Its funny how they are no longer STARVING when there are chores to do.
I am so with you and the fighting and slamming of doors. Above their regular chores there is the "you fought you work jar". They know if they aruge with the chore choice then they have to do it and a second one from the jar. One little peep of I am not doing that or yuck and they have two chores. It tends to keep the fights down and the yucks to a minimum....LOL
Post a Comment