Done For Real!

Okay, so one more post on allowance, and then I will move on.

I promise.

Another cool thing Mike and I have noticed about our kids and their allowance charts, is that they have all developed an amazing sense of care for their surroundings.

They seem to realize that taking care of our home is all of our responsibilities, no one is in it on their own, and we all like it better when things are kept up.

It doesn't always happen, but they are all getting better at noticing when something needs to be taken care of, and doing it without being asked. 

I think the reward aspect of the charts, is what got them to start looking for chore opportunities.  As a result of them looking for money making opportunities, they realized it feels good to have a clean house, to have things in order, and that is an added benefit that I didn't expect them to understand.

For example, we tend to do an overall cleaning every week on Thursdays.  And just about every Thursday, after we have completed the tasks at hand, at least one of the kids will come up to me and tell me how good it feels to have the house cleaned from top to bottom.  They feel a sense of accomplishment and pride, and they got paid for it! 

And when things get a little crazy around here, like over a weekend with a bunch of stuff going on, one of the kids will usually ask if we can work through some of the chores on the list, so that we can get things back in order.

This is not to say they are perfect!  The boys struggle with keeping their rooms clean, and I still have to keep on top of them.

And, we have had weeks where someone falls behind on their laundry, and they have no underwear :) 

It's a good life lesson.

So there you have it, not perfect kids, but at least they try, and that is all I ask.

Kristen