To Love, Honor and Vacuum
For all those women who sometimes feel more like maids than wives and mothers!
Putting Kids to Work This Summer
Download this episode (6 min)
Summer has hit; school is almost out; it's time for vacation!
But if you're not careful, you could get into a bad routine where you chauffeur kids, buy kids ice cream, cater to kids, and work for kids, but you never actually ask them to do anything in return.
It's easy during vacations to want to make it as fun as possible for the children. But let's remember that the whole reason we have summer vacations is that kids were needed to work on the farm!
There's nothing wrong with teaching your kids to clean a toilet this summer, or asking them to help you clean out the garage. In this week's podcast, I help you find ways to get kids working this summer--so that they enjoy the fun times even more!
Posted by Sheila Wray Gregoire at 2:19 PM | 2 comments
2 Comments:
My Profile
Sheila Wray Gregoire
View my complete profile
Links
Recent Posts
It's a Head Thing! How Our Sex Drives are So Different This Ain't Grandma's House! Diagnosis: Exhaustion Mother's Day: Are You Spinning Your Wheels? How to Stop Kids from Complaining! Complaint Free Week: Attitude of Gratitude What Throws Us Off TrackArchives
Nov 2009 Oct 2009 Sep 2009 Jun 2009 May 2009 Apr 2009 Mar 2009 Feb 2009 Jan 2009 Dec 2008 Nov 2008
Our kids have been raised as contributing members of the household, learning jobs that were appropriate to their ages/abilities... not only does this make them more capable (a good self-esteem thing!), but it helps them (eventually, at least!!) to be able to see work that needs to be done - and what employer doesn't like that!
Our boys are now 13 and 14, and this is their summer to demonstrate how well they can work at home - so that next summer they can look for paying jobs! Since I (mom) recently returned to the workforce, their contributions around the house have become essential - not just a "plus". They have risen to the occasion beautifully, and I'm sure it is at least in part because of the efforts that have been expended over the past ten years in teaching them to do various chores around the house.
Now we continue to work at ensuring the same work ethic is instilled in our younger daughters, now 7 and 9. Our thoughts so far have been that any housework done by the kids blesses our family - even when it is not done to exactly the same standards I would use!
Having the kids help with the work definitely makes them appreciate their time "off" more!
Kristy
I am just checking in - I haven't seen any new podcasts for the last 2 months. I love your podcasts and was just checking to see if everything was O.K.
THANKS!