Friday, April 16, 2010

Everybody Ought to Have a Maid

Kiddo has decided he wants the full version of a demo xbox video game we have. Since he doesn't have a birthday or a gift giving holiday coming up any time soon, he wants to earn money to buy the game himself. He and Hubby had a conversation about a week ago about how people do work to earn money and why we have jobs. Somewhere in the conversation it was discussed how Kiddo could possibly do chores to earn some extra money. So Kiddo approached me the other day asking if he could do some chores to earn money for the game.

I have very mixed feelings about giving Kiddo an allowance or paying for chores this early in his life. There are certain things that I expect him to do every day that is just part of being in a family and taking care of his things. He is required to pick up his room every night before bed, and most of the time I make him pick up all the toys in the rest of the house as well. He is responsible for putting his clothes in the hamper and wiping down the sink after he brushes his teeth (I cannot stand toothpaste in the sink! Ick!). {In case you would like to know my technique on this - Kiddo's routine is to brush his teeth and wash his face every morning. I keep a stack of baby washcloths next to the sink for him. After he brushes his teeth, he takes a clean washcloth and wets it down to wipe his face. When he is done washing his face, he uses the cloth to wipe down the sink and then puts the cloth in the dirty clothes hamper when done. viola! Clean boy AND a clean sink! yay!}

But there are other things we came up with that he doesn't necessarily have to do, but if he wants to earn some extra money, he can. I was more than happy to put sweeping, vacuuming and dusting on this list - and when I did I had no idea how wonderful it is to have him doing these things! He may not do a perfect job just yet, but it gets partially done - which is more than I can say about me doing it on a regular basis; especially when I am busy like I am right now. And the bonus is, he really LOVES doing it! At least, he loves it for now while he has a goal in mind. He actually loves it a little too much - his constant, CONSTANT asking me if he can do a chore is getting really old. I have him feeding the animals for a quarter each and clearing the plates from the dinner table for a quarter a night. Bigger things like dusting, vacuuming and sweeping are a dollar right now. As he gets more efficient at them the price will go down. He can also take out the trash and recycling, empty the smaller trash cans, pull weeds, wash the cars and put away laundry.

I love the help, and he loves helping. But I have got to figure out a way to get him to stop asking me so much. He wants to wash the car every day, even when it is raining, and if he pulls one little weed out of the garden he thinks he is going to get paid. And I wonder how this is all going to work once he reaches his goal and gets the game. I doubt he will keep it up.

I guess I should enjoy it while it lasts.

Until,
D :)

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